Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) to discuss C&AG’s special report on the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Fair Deal) with National Treatment Purchase Fund

Chaired by Deputy Brian Stanley, the meeting at 11.30am in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will hear first from the C&AG, Seamus McCarthy, followed by representatives of the NTPF led by its Chief Executive Liam Sloyan.

This is the Committee’s second engagement on the C&AG’s Special Report 110 - Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Fair Deal) following discussions with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive two weeks ago.

Deputy Stanley said: “The National Treatment Purchase Fund is responsible for negotiating the prices charged by private nursing homes and has said that it takes into account many factors in arriving at the weekly charge rate for a nursing home.

“However, the C&AG Special Report 110 found the NTPF to lack a systematic approach to their business. The NTPF appears to have no model for how various criteria are weighed and combined, and no internal review process for negotiations which break down. Consequently, it is unclear how the NTPF negotiates prices for the Fair Deal Scheme which has expenditure of almost €1 billion per annum. This is of serious concern.

“The Committee looks forward to discussing this and other matters raised by the C&AG’s special report with the representatives of the NTPF, as well as examining the NTPF’s 2018 financial statements.”

The PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money.

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.