Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 31 March 2022
372. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health if he has plans to address the substantial shortfall under the fair deal scheme between private and voluntary nursing homes and their counterparts in the HSE taking into account a 62% national differential and that €692 per resident per week more is provided to the HSE nursing homes by the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17125/22]
View answerThe Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public centres as well as across private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care. Regardless of whether it is a private, voluntary or public nursing home, the resident's financial contribution is the same; the price of care only affects levels of state funding and has no direct impact on the resident.
In December 2021, the Department published the independently-chaired Value For Money review on nursing home costs, which reviewed the variance in costs between public and private nursing homes. The review made 9 recommendations to address this issue, all of which are now being taken forward by the Department.
