Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that a number of nursing homes have closed this year, and of how upsetting such closures are for residents, their families and staff. The closure of any nursing home reduces bed capacity and puts pressure on other local health and social care facilities, including acute hospitals. Ensuring the welfare and safety of residents is secured when nursing homes close is the most important thing and work to alleviate the concerns of nursing home residents must continue.

All nursing homes, as registered providers with HIQA, have well-established obligations under the legal framework in terms of the delivery of safe care to residents.  As per regulations, HIQA must also be notified of any closure with 6 months’ notice. It is essential that when nursing homes are intending to close, residents and their families are consulted with and given appropriate notice so that new homes can be found and they can be moved in a safe, planned way. The continued wellbeing of nursing home residents and their families remains my continued focus.

It is imperative that nursing homes manage potential cost pressures in line with their regulatory and contractual responsibilities, maintaining their quality of care so that residents’ lived experience and comfort is not affected. I recognise that these cost pressures often disproportionately affect smaller nursing homes that do not have the same access to economies of scale as larger nursing homes; recent interventions by the State have taken this into consideration and will continue to do so.

Funding to support people to access long-term residential care is provided in line with the long-established statutory mechanisms under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. This is the mechanism established by the Oireachtas to provide for the processes relating to funding under the NHSS and the negotiation of prices for services for private and voluntary providers with the designated State agency, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). Maximum prices for individual nursing homes are agreed with the NTPF following negotiations and based on the NTPF’s cost criteria. These criteria include:

- Costs reasonably incurred by the nursing home

- Local market prices

- Historic prices

- Overall budgetary capacity

The NTPF carry out this role independently under the NHSS Act 2009 and there is no role for Ministers or the Department in these negotiations.  It should also be noted that the Department continues to work with the NTPF to take forward the recommended actions that emerged from the review of the NTPF pricing system published in June 2021.

The Government has provided substantial supports to the nursing home sector over the course of the pandemic. Over €144 million has been claimed by nursing homes under the Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) since its introduction in 2020. The Government has now agreed to extend TAPS to the end of the year by maintaining the availability of Outbreak Assistance support. The scheme will also be refocused on addressing this year's inflationary pressures related to energy and heating, whilst continuing to support nursing homes with the cost of managing COVID-19 outbreaks. Details are being finalised and these will be communicated in the coming days.