Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2016
531. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health if he will seek the policy reasons from the Health Service Executive as to why it refuses to publish revised costs of care in public nursing homes; if he is aware that this is outstanding for five years; if he is concerned about transparency in the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19396/16]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act, 2009 provides that the components that make up the cost of care in public residential facilities must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, and the HSE have complied with this requirement. There is no legal obligation under the Act for the HSE to publish the public cost of care.
Over the past number of years the cost of care for public nursing homes under the Scheme as published on the HSE website was not updated by the HSE as the costs of public long stay and short stay care services were being reviewed. This work was acknowledged in the Review of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, which was published by the Department of Health in July 2015. The HSE will, however, publish the cost of care for public residential care centres in September 2016 in the interests of transparency, and the HSE continues to work to improve the value for money that is delivered by public facilities.
