The Alliance – Supporting Nursing Homes met with Minister for Older Persons, Kieran O’Donnell TD, as part of our ongoing engagement with Government ahead of Budget 2027.
During the meeting, we formally presented our Pre-Budget Submission, setting out practical proposals to address the financial and operational challenges facing independent and family-run nursing homes, including reform of the Fair Deal funding model, recognition of resident dependency levels and measures to address increasing operating costs.
We also addressed, in the strongest possible terms, our serious dissatisfaction with the Minister’s handling of correspondence submitted by The Alliance on behalf of independent nursing home operators. We made it abundantly clear that the repeated failure to provide substantive responses to serious representations is unacceptable and falls well short of the standards of accountability, transparency and professional courtesy reasonably expected of a Government Minister.
The Minister’s responsibility to engage with the sector cannot reasonably be discharged through a few short meetings alone annually while important written correspondence remains unanswered. Engagement without appropriate follow through is not meaningful accountability, and smaller independent nursing home operators should not have to repeatedly pursue a Minister simply to obtain a response to legitimate concerns.
These concerns relate specifically to the Minister’s handling of correspondence and should not be confused with our wider working relationships. The Alliance continues to engage constructively with the Department of Health and relevant State agencies, and remains committed to advancing practical solutions for the nursing home sector.
We will continue to work constructively with Government, but we will not lower our expectations of ministerial accountability simply because we represent smaller independent operators.