Nursing home body critical of Harney

The Irish Nursing Homes Organisation (INHO) has criticised the Minister for Health Mary Harney for what it said was her failure to deliver on promises to reform the State subvention scheme for persons in long-term residential care.

The chief executive of the INHO, Tadhg Daly, said yesterday that both Ms Harney and Minister of State Seán Power had made commitments over the past year to rectify the current situation, but that the issue remained unresolved.

He said that the current nursing home subvention scheme, which had been increased just once since its introduction in 1993, provided a maximum subvention of €190.50 per week.

"There is general agreement that this is simply far too low and does not reflect the cost of providing care," he said.

Mr Daly said that some HSE regions also provided enhanced subventions. However, he said that the problem was exacerbated as applicants with similar levels of need and resources were treated differently depending on the region they lived in.

He said that the INHO contended that where an individual, who had been assessed as needing care, did not have the resources to meet the full cost, that the State subvention should make up the difference.

He added that the organisation also believed that where a person, considered to require care, did not have any means, that the State subvention should cover the full cost involved.

Mr Daly said that it was "inexplicable" that the State should award a subvention grant which fell short of meeting the cost of care to a person who had no means, and then make no provision as to how the difference should be made up.

A spokesman for Ms Harney could not be contacted yesterday. However, in an interview last week the Tánaiste indicated that she hoped to bring proposals in this area to Government within the next few weeks.

A report of an inter-departmental group, which has been under consideration by a cabinet sub-committee in recent months, recommends that older people availing of long-term care should make a substantial contribution towards the cost involved.

One of the options outlined in the report is that equity could be released on people's homes to pay their contribution towards the cost of care.

With the number of people aged over 65 set to double between now and 2036, the report warns of a huge and increasing burden on the State.