Today we published our 2027 pre-budget submission and submitted it to the Minister of Older Persons Kieran O’Donnell prior to our pre-budget meeting with him on the 11th of August 2026.
VIEW BUDGET SUBMISSION HERE
🎙️ Listen to CEO Shane Scanlans interview on Midlands 103 FM on the Independent Forvis Mazars review of HIQA’s nursing home inspection process.👇 (Begins 13mins 30secs)
Link to interview: Week 27 – Friday – Midlands Today with Will Faulkner – Midlands 103 The interview shares views on the report, wider issues and sets out the factual timeline that led to its publication.
If the report was ready to publish on the 2nd of July, it raises an important question as to why it was not published sooner.
There is also an irony that should not be overlooked. The independent review was commissioned because of investigative journalism by RTÉ. One year later, it was investigative journalism that established the review had already been completed and asked why it remained unpublished by the Government.
The publication of this report is not the end of the conversation. It is the beginning.
The Alliance fully supports HIQA – Health Information and Quality Authority in implementing the recommendations of this independent review. The priority now is turning its findings into meaningful action that benefits residents, families and providers alike.
The Alliance – Supporting Nursing Homes attended Department of Health – Ireland buildings for a stakeholder forum in relation to Adult Safeguarding in the Health and Social Care Sector.
This was chaired by Assistant Secretary in The Department of Health Siobhán Mc Ardle.
Opening addresses came from both The Minister of Older Persons Kieran O’Donnell TD and Anne O’Connor CEO of the Health Service Executive
Safeguarding legislation will be coming into effect by 2028.
The Alliance is here to assist you, give us a call directly at 06931024 / 0879339429
The Alliance – Supporting Nursing Homes met with Minister of Older Persons Kieran O’Donnell and had the opportunity to raise a number of critical issues impacting the nursing home sector at present and, most importantly, the delivery of care to older persons across Ireland.
Key discussions focused on:
We also welcomed confirmation that the Minister and the Department of Health will tomorrow announce a new support scheme for 2026, with a broader structure to the 2025 RPU Scheme, with funding of up to €25,000 per nursing home. This is a positive development and reflects sustained engagement and advocacy by the Alliance since pre-Budget discussions last year.
Whilst all of this is a step in the right direction, it is clear that broader structural reform is required to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector. In particular, funding must move beyond basic “bed, board, and laundry” to properly reflect the true cost and complexity of care.
We look forward to continued engagement with the Minister, the Department of Health and Government to deliver meaningful reform that supports providers, protects residents, and ensures high-quality care across the system.
The Alliance Supporting Nursing Homes addressed TDs and Senators in the AV Room at Leinster House. Special thanks to Michael Healy-Rae TD for organising the session who is a true supporter of our Alliance and a committed advocate for the nursing home sector. My thanks to colleagues from Hibernia Nursing Home Group and Carysfort Nursing Home who joined me for a substantive and timely engagement.
Topics we presented on:
Representation of the nursing home sector is often filtered through accountancy lenses or carried by those with no healthcare experience or qualifications. The realities of care are best articulated by those who deliver it and have clinical management experience. Policy for older persons and Nursing Homes in Ireland cannot be credibly shaped from a distance. The complexity of care, the weight of regulation, and the lived experience of residents and staff demand expertise rooted in practice, not removed from it.
We are grateful for the members of the Oireachtas and various Government Departments who attended and welcome the prospect of further Oireachtas Committee level engagement.
If the sector is to be properly understood, it must first be properly represented. That begins with those at its core, Nurses Representing Nursing Homes. The Alliance does just that.
