The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, is administered by the health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority. There are three maximum rates of subvention payable – £70, £95, £120 – in accordance with three levels of dependency, medium, high, maximum, which are eligible for subvention. However, a health board may pay more than the maximum rate of subvention relative to an individual's level of dependency, for example, in cases where personal funds are exhausted. Sections 22.3 and 22.4 of the Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, permit health boards to contract beds in private nursing homes and to pay more than the maximum rates of subvention in such cases. The application of these provisions is a matter for the individual health board concerned in the context of meeting increasing demands for subventions within available resources. I understand that the Eastern Regional Health Authority, the North Eastern, South Eastern, Southern and Western Health Boards pay more than the maximum rate of subvention in certain instances.
The amount made available for the subvention scheme this year is £38.4 million. My priority is to ensure that health boards have adequate resources to meet increasing demands. The question of increasing the rates of subvention will be kept under review in light of the availability of funding and competing priorities in the development of services for older people.
