Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
768. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the financial and staffing difficulties currently experienced by private and voluntary nursing homes, including at a location (details supplied), under the fair deal scheme; and the measures his Department is taking to prevent further closures of private and voluntary nursing homes. [33872/23]
View answerFair Deal was designed to protect and support vulnerable older people, to ensure equal access to nursing home care based on what they could afford. This gives certainty to people and families. Government funding for Fair Deal is to support vulnerable older people at a time in their lives where full-time care is essential.Options to provide additional support to nursing homes are being explored, such as to help with the often costly nature of compliance for nursing homes under necessary HIQA regulations. I expect that proposed options in relation to this matter will be before me by the end of the year, though they are currently in the early stages of development.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 over €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. Following a recent review this scheme was extended for a second time to the end of June 2023.Budget 2023 saw an over €40 million in additional funding for the Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS) which will provide for an uplift in the maximum prices chargeable by private and voluntary nursing homes, as negotiated. Anyone who has had a scheduled renegotiation of their Deed of Agreement this year with the NTPF has seen a significant uplift. I am conscious of private and voluntary nursing homes that are not scheduled to renegotiate their Deed of Agreement in 2023 and other options are being considered. One of the options under consideration is for nursing home providers to agree to a shorter contract duration with the NTPF.Important strands of reform to the nursing home sector are being, or have been, brought forward. The Government remains committed to delivering on: •The nine recommendations that emerged from the Value for Money Review on Nursing Home Costs,•The 86 recommendations of COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel, especially those recommendations related to long-term sectoral reform, and•The four recommendations of the NTPF Review of Pricing System for Long Term Residential Care Facilities,Work continues within the Department of Health to deliver on all of these recommendations, as well as analysing the outcomes of the Skills Mix and Safe Staffing pilots which will serve to inform future policy.Given the size, complexity and cost of the NHSS, implementation is complex and any changes in policy direction need to be carefully assessed and kept under review. The Department of Health is consistently seeking to identify improvements and introduce enhancements to the scheme, where feasible, which aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is sustainable, accessible and affordable for everyone and that people continue to be cared for in the most appropriate settings.In respect of staffing, to examine and address the significant workforce challenges in the homecare and nursing home sectors in Ireland, I established a cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group (SWAG) in March 2022. The group was charged with identifying strategic workforce challenges in publicly and privately provided front-line carer roles in home support and nursing homes and with developing recommendations. Their report was published in October 2022 with 16 recommendations. I strongly endorse the Advisory Group’s recommendations. Implementation of the 16 recommendations is underway and is being overseen by a cross departmental implementation group, chaired by the Department of Health. One recommendation is fully delivered and 4 others at an advanced stage. Recommendation 9 has been implemented. The statutory instrument authorising the issuance of 1,000 employment permits for homecare workers was signed on 16th December 2022. As recommended by the Advisory Group, these permits will be for full-time positions with a minimum salary of €27,000 per year.
