Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
982. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that there is an equal level of pay to nursing homes for residents in the fair deal scheme regardless of whether the nursing home is public or private as recently stated in nursing homes in Ireland submission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14571/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 to the exchequer. However, it is important to note that 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.
