Nursing home bed approvals may recommence next week

APPROVAL for a nursing home bed under the Government’s stalled Fair Deal scheme may recommence by the end of the next week, Health Minister Dr James Reilly said last night.

However, the rate at which approvals are made is not likely to match the approval rate prior to the scheme’s suspension on May 13, when it emerged the €1 billion fund was out of money.

The suspension of the scheme has led to a backlog of up to 4,600 unapproved applications in the system, according to Kathleen Lynch, Minister of State at the Department of Health. Ms Lynch revealed the scale of the numbers affected by the funding crisis in the Dáil yesterday.