THE GOVERNMENT has signalled that money set aside to implement its "fair deal" on nursing home care could be spent on other areas because of ongoing legal problems with the legislation.
A total of €110 million has been set aside to implement the fair deal scheme, which will fund nursing home care from people's estates after their death.
The scheme was due to come into force in January this year, but progress has been held up due to uncertainty over the legality of the legislation. The Bill, which is on its twelfth draft, is still being examined by the Office of the Attorney General. No date has been set for its publication.
In response to a parliamentary question last week, Minister for Health Mary Harney said any re-direction of the funds would "need to be considered in the context of the HSE's overall financial position at the end of this year".
At present, the HSE has overspent more than €90 million and projects an overspend of up to €300 million by the end of this year.
In previous years, money that was set aside for mental health and palliative care was diverted into other parts of the Health Service Executive's budget to address cost overruns.
Meanwhile, the delay in the implementation of the scheme is causing difficulties for many families who budgeted on the "fair deal" being in place six months ago, according to advocates for older people.
Groups such as Age Action Ireland and the Irish Senior Citizen's Parliament say current subvention levels are inadequate for families and older people to meet nursing home costs.
The latest figures show that weekly nursing home costs range between €500 and €1,300, while nursing home subvention is capped at €300 a week. While enhanced subvention is available in certain circumstances, it is at the discretion of the HSE.
A spokeswoman for the Minister said she was aware of the difficulties that the unforeseen delay in implementing the scheme was causing for older people who need long-term residential care
However, she said the legislation was complex and required careful drafting in order to ensure that the interests of older people requiring residential care were fully protected.
The question of diverting money set aside for the "fair deal" into other areas of health spending could pose political problems for Ms Harney, who has criticised the HSE for diverting money for developing health services into meeting cost overruns.
However, officials say Ms Harney has told the HSE in recent months that it must press for more efficient gains and more effective work practices in order to combat cost overruns and to ensure that all allocated money is spent in accordance with Government priorities.
Nursing Homes Ireland, the main representative group for nursing home operators, is supportive of the scheme and wants it implemented as soon as possible.
"If the proposal is unworkable from a constitutional point of view, then it needs to be replaced by a workable proposal which is equitable and adequate, and this must happen soon," said the group's chief executive, Tadhg Daly.
