I very much welcome the opportunity to raise this issue which is a matter of great concern in the Cork area.
Let me take this opportunity also to congratulate you, Sir, on the political acumen you have shown today, particularly in the choice of matters on the adjournment from the Fine Gael Party. Obviously, Sir, you are one who builds on the positive.
When a subvention scheme was introduced with the implementation of the Nursing Homes Act everybody was delighted that at long last hardpressed families would be given assistance to meet the extremely high charges of nursing homes. This was a widely welcomed measure but the nursing homes increased their charges inordinately. I am only aware of the situation in the Cork area and am not certain of what happened right across the country, but I am extremely concerned about it. I am aware that at least five nursing homes in the Cork area have increased their fees on the basis of complying with the regulations in the Nursing Homes Act. I am aware of families who pool their resources to ensure that a family member can be maintained in a nursing home. In one instance, only one member of the family is employed, four others are unemployed and they have to pay £130 a week to the nursing home. However, as soon as a subvention of £50 per week was made available to them, there was an increase of £35 per week. I had a phone call from a distraught woman whose mother is in a nursing home. The woman is ill and cannot possibly look after her mother but as soon as she received her subvention of £60 per week, the nursing home increased its fee from £130 to £200 per week and any benefits she would derive from the subvention were lost. In another case, a pensioner who took early retirement applied for a subvention for his mother-in-law and on being awarded a subvention of £70 was notified that the nursing home charge was increased by £50. This is causing great misery and putting severe financial strain on the families involved.
The average subvention is approximately £70 per week. Is there any point in the Government providing a subvention when the operators of private nursing homes increase their charges and there is no net benefit to the families experiencing financial difficulties? Why is this the case? Indeed, I asked the health board the same question. The justification private nursing homes give for these increases is compliance with fire regulations. I cannot comprehend why compliance with the fire regulations would impose such a cost factor. Planning permission is needed for a nursing home, the permission is subject to the fire safety officer approving the safety precautions installed and, therefore, should have been part and parcel of the planning permission in the first instance. Privately, families are telling me that the increase is a total rip off and I have had no justification from operators as to why the fees should be increased. The families have no way out except to come to somebody like me to air their grievances in this House.
The Minister will probably tell me he has no jurisdiction in this matter. Is it not very serious that the Government provides a subvention which is being eaten up by private operators who, unscrupulously, increase their charges inordinately? It is possible for the Minister to ensure a common price structure for nursing home care as what is happening at present is totally unfair?
