There will be an increase in subventions for private nursing homes in next month's budget, Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney announced today.
Ms Harney said the thresholds for subsidies - which have not been increased since 1993 - were unrealistic, given the rise in the cost of living in the past 12 years.
Speaking at the Irish Nursing Home Organisation's (INHO) annual conference today, she said the Department of Health was reviewing the subvention scheme, under which the state subsidises beds in private care facilities.
"We're examining that in terms of the Budget as well, because there haven't been increases since 1993.
"If you have a property worth €95,000 for example, which is a totally unrealistic figure in 2005, you're not entitled to what's called an enhanced subvention and many, many people therefore don't qualify for support re institutional care as a result of the low threshold," she said.
"But that's being examined in the context of the initiatives that we are going to bring forward later in the year."
She also promised that robust new regulations would be put in place to protect elderly people in care homes.
Ms Harney said the Department of Health would be strengthening the powers inspectors had in the wake of care scandals at nursing homes such as Leas Cross.
She said a strengthened inspection system would also be extended to public nursing homes, which are currently not inspected by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The Tánaiste said the HSE was committed to implementing a co-ordinated standardised inspection process, which would include unannounced inspections, by all teams across the country.
The Health Bill 2005 would contain provisions for the setting and monitoring of standards for nursing homes, she said.
The organisation's conference heard that 43 per cent
of private homes had been the subject of unannounced inspections by the HSE between January and August 2005.
HSE
chairman Paul Costello said under current law private nursing homes must be inspected every six months.
But although an INHO survey showed private homes were being inspected on average 2.3 times in a 12-month period, there were no inspections of state-run institutions, he said.
Mr Costello urged Ms Harney to ensure the promised Social Services Inspectorate, which will police nursing home standards, would be independent of the HSE and would monitor standards in both private and public nursing homes.
Meanwhile, the Tánaiste today announced the appointment of Joe Macri, managing director of Microsoft Ireland, to the board of the Health Service Executive.