Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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1605.To ask the Minister for Health if a response will issue to concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.[33928/24]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Registered providers of nursing home care are obliged to provide an accessible and effective complaints procedure. Concerns about additional charges should in the first instance be taken up with the nursing home provider. Where an individual is not satisfied with the response they receive, they may wish to take their complaint further by seeking a review from the Office of the Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman can examine complaints about the actions of a range of public bodies and, from 24 August 2015, complaints relating to the administrative actions of private nursing homes. The Office of the Ombudsman normally only deals with a complaint once the individual has already gone through the complaint’s procedure of the private nursing home concerned.

The Ombudsman can be contacted as follows:

Office of the Ombudsman

6 Earlsfort Terrace

Dublin 2

D02 W773

Tel. (01) 639 5600 / Lo-call (1890) 22 30 30

e-mail at ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie

An individual can also use the following website to make a complaint to office of the Ombudsman at the ‘Make A Complaint’ portal on www.ombudsman.ie.

Part 7 of the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 stipulates that the registered provider of the nursing home must agree a contract in writing with each resident on their admission to the nursing home. This contract must include details of the services to be provided to that resident and the fees to be charged. Residents should never be charged fees which are not set out in the contract. The Department of Health and the HSE are not a party to such contracts which are concluded between each resident and their nursing home.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is an independent statutory body with a dual mandate to enforce competition and consumer protection law in Ireland. CCPC’s mission is to promote competition and enhance consumer welfare. The CCPC has published consumer protection guidelines for contracts of care in long-term residential care services for older people. The guidelines set out the obligations and responsibilities that providers must adhere to under consumer protection law and are aimed at providing greater transparency, clarity and certainty for consumers. The guidelines can be found on the website: www.ccpc.ie/business/help-for-business/guidelines-for-business/nursing-home-guidelines/

The issue of additional charges is multifaceted; there are a number of separate factors driving this issue. The Department of Health is currently reviewing the available evidence and potential actions to address the different factors are being considered.