Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 July 2023
194. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the level of additional funding provided for nursing homes in Budget 2023 under new measures and the amount provided to/via the NTPF, the nursing home support scheme, and the amount provided otherwise, in tabular form; the level under existing levels of service; the amount provided otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32967/23]
View answerOverall, €1.4 billion of the total Health Budget was allocated last year to support over 22,700 people under Fair Deal. This will increase to nearly €1.5 billion for 2023, and I am cognisant that the budget has to support all residents under the Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS) for the full calendar year. The Government is conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector, especially smaller and voluntary nursing homes that may not have access to the same economies of scale as larger homes or groups. The Government has provided substantial support to the private and voluntary nursing home sector over the course of the pandemic. Over €150m of financial support has been provided to private and voluntary nursing homes through the COVID-19 Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) and the provision of free PPE and oxygen to private nursing homes continues, costing approximately €77 million to date. A new €10 million scheme (TIPS) was established last year to support private and voluntary nursing homes with increases in energy costs, covering 75% of year-on-year cost increases up to a monthly cap of €5,250 per nursing home. This scheme has been extended for a second time to the end of June 2023. The only mechanism for funding from the public purse for nursing home residents is Fair Deal and it is really important that private and voluntary providers continue to engage in the process as set out in the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009.
In exceptional circumstances, the National Transitionary Care Funding Office continues to accept and fund applications for additional supports for those who require higher care needs in private nursing homes. The total expenditure on additional top-up payments for complex care since Jan 2022 is approximately €5m. This figure includes a number of disability services and some recipients who do not participate in Fair Deal. This is the national figure for services for older people only and does not include details of any local CHO arrangements or figures for other care groups.
|
Amount/Total |
|
|
NHSS total Budget (2022) |
€1.4bn |
|
Budget 2023 |
+ €40m |
|
Total NHSS Budget (w/o client contributions) |
€1.094bn |
|
Approximate client contributions |
€361m |
|
NHSS total Budget (2023) |
€1.5bn |
|
TAPS (2023) |
Approx. €1.379m |
|
TAPS (approximate total 2020-2023) |
€150.3m |
|
TIPS |
€10m |
|
PPE & Oxygen |
€77m |
|
Projected Number of supported clients |
22,700 |
|
Actual Number of supported clients (May ’23) |
22,630 |
