Questions

999. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when a National Safe Staffing and Skill Mix Framework for nursing homes will be finalised; to provide the date the pilot commenced; the number of pilot sites;the reason the framework remains in pilot stage several years after acceptance.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9302/26]

1000. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any funding uplift has been provided to voluntary nursing homes to meet the staffing expectations emerging from safe staffing pilots; and if not, how providers are expected to absorb rising staffing costs. [9303/26]

1001. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts that voluntary nursing homes are being held to rising regulatory and clinical standards without any binding national staffing ratios or corresponding funding. [9304/26]

1002. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the average weekly cost per resident in public nursing homes compared with NHSS-funded voluntary and private homes; and whether she accepts that public units frequently operate above NHSS price ceilings. [9305/26]

1004. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when the Department last published a full variance analysis of actual public nursing home costs against NHSS ceilings, as recommended in the value for money review; and to provide the most recent data. [9307/26]

1011. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has quantified the administrative and compliance burden imposed on voluntary nursing homes in recent years; whether any funding has been provided to offset these additional requirements. [9314/26]

1123. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if it has been brought to her attention that there is a gross lack of nursing home vacancies in the Mid-West region and that many families are finding it impossible to secure places for ill or disabled relatives that require full nursing home care; her plans to alleviate the situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10044/26]

1170. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of applications from County Meath awaiting decision/placement under the nursing homes support scheme for each of the last three years 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date; and the average time from application to funding decision. [10264/26]

953. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she will review the case of a person (details supplied) regarding a nursing home place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7409/26]

1015. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the changes she has implemented to address the issues identified in reports on the nursing home sector (details supplied); the further actions she intends to take to reform the way in which nursing homes are regulated and funded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7618/26]

1016. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of private residential properties owned by persons in receipt of support under the nursing homes support scheme that were rented out in each year since the Fair Deal rental income reforms came into effect in early 2024; the total number of such properties currently rented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7665/26]

1017. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of properties associated with nursing homes support scheme applicants that were identified by her Department or the HSE as potentially suitable for rental prior to the 2024 Fair Deal rental income reforms; the evidence base used at that time to estimate that thousands of homes would enter the rental market; and if she will publish the underlying analys…

1018. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted any post-implementation review of the 2024 Fair Deal rental income reforms; whether barriers such as legal complexity, family consent issues, tenancy duration rules, or interaction with wider rental legislation were identified as limiting take-up; and what corrective actions are now proposed. [7667/26]

1019. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what engagement has taken place between her Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the HSE to assess the impact of wider rental market reforms on the willingness of nursing homes support scheme participants to rent out their properties; and whether any cross-departmental measures are planned to increase participation. [7668/26]

1142. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to cases related to the fair deal scheme (details supplied); her views on how best for people in these circumstances to proceed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8384/26]

440. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a bed in a nursing home will be provided for a person in their own county (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7203/26]

441. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a better system will be introduced that will cease the practice of providing nursing home beds that involve up to a five hour-plus round trip for families, friends and neighbours to visit loved ones in County Kerry; if the practice of sending Kerry patients to nursing homes outside the county could also cease immediately; and if she will make a statement on …

917. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the impact of recent and proposed changes to residential tenancy legislation, including the effective six-year security of tenure, on families and executors seeking to repay nursing home support scheme (fair deal) loans within the statutory one-year period following a resident’s death; and if she will make a statement on the mat…

918. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has engaged with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding the unintended consequences of long-term tenancy protections for properties subject to nursing home support scheme loans; whether this issue has been raised at interdepartmental level; and if she will outline any actions arising from such engagement. [5430/26…

919. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health whether consideration has been given to the fiduciary duties of executors administering estates where a property is subject to a nursing home support scheme loan; and whether the Department recognises that long-term tenancy requirements may conflict with executors’ obligations to repay debts and distribute estates in a timely manner. [5431/26]

920. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health whether she will consider introducing legislative or regulatory flexibility within the nursing home support scheme to allow for short-term lettings or early termination of tenancies where this is necessary to facilitate repayment of a nursing home loan or the orderly administration of an estate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5432/26]

982. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons assessed for eligibility for the nursing homes support scheme during 2025; and the number approved in each CHO area, in tabular form. [5714/26]

983. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting funding approval under the nursing homes support scheme as of 31 December 2025; and the length of time waiting, in tabular form. [5715/26]

1122. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Health the number of community nursing home beds specifically available to individuals with Alzheimer's within CHO5. [6430/26]

4. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if she will ensure that Saint Anne's ward in St. Vincent's nursing unit in Mountmellick, County Laois, is kept in use when the new wing is open, to allow for the capacity of the hospital to go from 58 to 83; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4891/26]