This is the most the home can charge a week for residents on the Fair Deal scheme. Under Fair Deal you pay up to 80% of your income and 7.5% of the value of your assets a year, and the State pays the rest. Homes may charge extra for things like activities, hairdressing or newspapers, so ask about these when you call.
Read the conditions HIQA attached to this registration
Condition 1: Subject to any prohibitions or restrictions contained in any other condition(s), the designated centre shall be operated at all times in accordance with the Statement of Purpose within the footprint of the designated centre on the floor plan received on 16/06/2026. The registered provider shall only provide for the specific care and support needs, and services, within the facilities as set out the Statement of Purpose, as agreed with the Chief Inspector at the time of registration. Any changes to the specific care and support needs and services provided must be agreed in advance with the Chief Inspector.
Condition 2: Only persons aged 18 years or older shall be accommodated at the designated centre at any time.
Condition 3: The maximum number of persons that may be accommodated at the designated centre is: 37.
Other homes nearby
Worth phoning too if this home has no bed available.
Ranked 19 of 21 scored homes in Co. Donegal · 11 of 12 within 25 km
Leadership and management63
Quality and safety of care48
What went into the score
12 November 2025 · counts 50%7 not compliant · 2 of 15 compliant · 44
6 May 2025 · counts 30%2 not compliant · 6 of 16 compliant · 71
5 November 2024 · counts 20%4 not compliant · 3 of 11 compliant · 56
Fair Deal price is 2% below the Co. Donegal median of €1,275 a week.
How we calculate this score
Every regulation HIQA judged on an inspection earns points: Compliant 100, Substantially compliant 65, Not compliant 25.
Where the compliance plan rates the risk of a failing regulation, orange (moderate risk) takes off 15 more points and red (high risk) takes off 40. Yellow (low risk) takes off nothing.
An inspection's score is the average over the regulations it looked at.
A home's score combines its last 3 inspections: the newest counts for 50%, the one before for 30% and the one before that for 20%. With fewer inspections the weights are scaled up to 100%.
The trend compares the newest inspection's score with the average of the earlier ones: 5 points or more higher is improving, 5 or more lower is declining, anything else is stable.
Homes are ranked by score within their county and among scored homes within 25 km. Homes with the same score share a rank.
Method v1. It uses only HIQA's published judgments, not our opinion, and is recalculated whenever a new report is published.
What the latest inspection found
Aras Gaoth Dobhair is a single-storey nursing home in Donegal with two units: a dementia-specific unit and a general unit. Residents generally felt well cared for, with good food and friendly staff. However, inspectors found issues with staffing levels, especially in the dementia unit during early mornings, leading to some residents being unsupervised. Privacy in shared rooms was inadequate, and infection control and medication management practices needed improvement. Activities were available on weekdays but not on weekends. Management oversight and record-keeping were also found lacking in some areas.
Long-term care
Convalescence
Respite
Dementia care
What inspectors liked
Residents reported the food was delicious and staff were excellent and supportive.
The centre provides care in a warm, well-lit, and welcoming environment.
Staff communicate fluently in English and Gaelic, creating a positive atmosphere.
Residents have access to newspapers and television, and regular residents' meetings are held.
Residents have good access to general practitioners and a range of allied health professionals.
What needed to improve
Insufficient staffing and supervision in the dementia unit during early mornings, leading to residents being left unsupervised.
Privacy and dignity concerns in shared rooms due to inadequate room layout and privacy screens.
Inspection history
HIQA judges each regulation as Compliant Substantially compliant Not compliantRisk: Low Moderate High
12 November 2025
Unannounced inspection · published May 2026
2 compliant6 mostly7 not compliant
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Leadership and management
Statement of purposeLow risk · fix by 30 November 2025
Infection prevention and control practices were not fully effective, with risks of cross-contamination and unsafe storage.
Medication management was unsafe, including sharing ointments and storing out-of-date medicines with current ones.
Lack of meaningful activities during weekends and no qualified chef on weekends.
Management oversight was inadequate, with poor record-keeping, unclear complaint procedures, and ineffective risk management.
Fire evacuation procedures were not clearly detailed, and some fire safety measures were lacking.
What residents said
“The food was delicious”
“The staff were excellent”
“I feel well-supported”
Staffing
Staffing levels were not sufficient, especially in the dementia unit during early mornings, resulting in residents being unsupervised. The person deputising for the person in charge was often covering nursing duties at night, limiting management oversight. There was no qualified chef on weekends, and activity staff were not allocated for weekends.
Activities
An activity schedule is in place and led by two staff members during weekdays. However, no activities are scheduled for weekends, and residents have no meaningful activities then.
Food
Residents said the food was of good quality and refreshments were readily available. However, there is no qualified chef on duty during weekends.
Dementia
Has a dedicated dementia unit. The dementia-specific unit accommodates 20 residents and is led by a staff nurse. However, staffing during early mornings was insufficient to supervise residents properly. The sensory room was locked during inspection morning hours, limiting access. Staff communicate well with residents in both English and Gaelic.
Summarised by AI from the HIQA report of 12 November 2025. Check the report for the full picture.Source report (PDF)
Mostly
Persons in chargeModerate risk · fix by 31 December 2025Not compliant
StaffingModerate risk · fix by 31 December 2025Not compliant
Training and staff developmentLow risk · fix by 1 December 2025Mostly
RecordsLow risk · fix by 1 December 2025Mostly
Governance and managementModerate risk · fix by 31 January 2026Not compliant
Complaints procedureLow risk · fix by 30 November 2025Mostly
Quality and safety of care
Individual assessment and care planLow risk · fix by 31 December 2025Mostly
Health careCompliant
ProtectionCompliant
Residents' rightsModerate risk · fix by 31 December 2026Not compliant
PremisesModerate risk · fix by 31 December 2025Not compliant
Infection controlModerate risk · fix by 31 December 2025Not compliant
Fire precautionsLow risk · fix by 30 November 2025Mostly
Medicines and pharmaceutical servicesModerate risk · fix by 30 November 2025Not compliant