Ministers for Health announce government approval to publish the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024

Ministers for Health announce government approval to publish the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024 providing for amendments to the Health Act 2007 and the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009:

• new enforcement powers for the Chief Inspector of Social Services, including the power to issue compliance notices, to enhance compliance with Regulations in residential care centres to further protect residents
• new provisions to collect and publish data from nursing homes to provide for better information and more integrated national planning across the nursing home sector
• more family members will be eligible to be considered as a 'family successor' to a family farm or business assets under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS)

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Minister for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler have today received government approval to publish the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024 providing for amendments to the Health Act 2007 and the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009.

These new amendments to the Health Act 2007 are in response to several key recommendations in the COVID-19 Nursing Home Expert Panel Report, which called for (1) the enhancement and modernisation of powers and requirements within the regulatory framework governing nursing homes and (2) the establishment of mandatory reporting to HIQA of key operational data by nursing homes to support service planning and policy development.

The amendments to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 (Fair Deal) will widen the definition of those eligible to be considered as a 'family successor' to a family farm or productive business assets to include cousins, great-nephews and great-nieces, and great-grandchildren. Under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) (Amendment) Act 2021, contributions from farm and business assets can be capped after three years in care, as long as the family successor that is appointed will continue to run the asset for a period of time.

Announcing the government decision to approve the legislation, Minister Donnelly said:

"I pleased to receive government approval to publish this Bill. The provisions, when enacted, will drive improvements in the quality and safety of care for the benefit of residents, their families and the sector as a whole. In addition, new powers in relation to data collection will aid more integrated national planning across the nursing home sector and will improve overall transparency for current and future residents."

Minister Butler said:

"This legislation represents another important step in the implementation of the recommendations of the Nursing Homes Expert Panel Report. It will strengthen and improve the tools available to the Chief Inspector to make timely, proportionate and effective interventions to protect residents, and builds on the investments made over the last number of years to increase HIQA's staffing capacity in this area to make sure that all nursing homes are safe environments for everyone living and working there.

"It has been a key priority for me to bring this legislation forward. Having already introduced amendments to the Fair Deal that safeguarded family farms and businesses, it became clear that there was a small group of farmers with no close relatives that were unintentionally excluded from the legislation. These new proposed amendments to the Fair Deal scheme will ensure the safeguards for family farms and businesses apply to the extended family including cousins and great-nieces, great-nephews and great-grandchildren, protecting the viability and sustainability of these businesses into the future. This is a really important change for those individuals who do not have immediate relatives."

The Ministers intend to publish the final text of the Bill shortly and to progress the legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas as a priority in the coming months.

Notes

The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024 provides for:

Amendments to the Health Act 2007 to:

• introduce new powers for the Chief Inspector of Social Services to issue compliance notices to provide a more agile and proportionate tool for intervention to support compliance in residential centres for older people and people with disabilities, complementing the current Section 51 processes under the Act. The provisions are similar to compliance notice models in other legislation
• provide a new function for the Chief Inspector to collect, share and publish key operational data in relation to nursing homes
• reduce timelines for existing enforcement provisions initiated under Section 51, to expedite the current system of imposing conditions on registration or cancelling registration and to maintain consistency with the current District Court Rules to bring motions to appeal
• provide a clear legal basis for the Chief Inspector to enter and inspect a premises which is unregistered, if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the business of an unregistered designated centre is being carried on
• providing an express power for the Chief Inspector to remove a condition attached to registration of a designated centre without an application from the registered provider. Provide explicitly that the Minister can prescribe, in regulations, certain requirements to be included in complaints processes for residential centres

Amendments to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme 2009 to:

• extend the definition of those eligible to be considered as a 'family successor' to a family farm or business assets to include cousins, great-nephews and great-nieces, and great-grandchildren
• provide for further technical amendments to the 2009 Act

The Health Act 2007 established the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and the Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services. It also provides the regulatory framework for residential services for older persons (nursing homes), persons with disabilities and children in need of care and protection. The Chief Inspector of Social Services monitors compliance with this regulatory framework.

The Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 established the Nursing Homes Support Scheme under which financial support is provided to those availing of long-term residential care services.