The main organisation representing nursing home owners says homes have little option but to pass the new annual €190 charge per bed on to residents.
At its annual conference in Dublin, Nursing Homes Ireland said a nursing home with 50 beds will have to pay close to €10,000 a year in fees to the Health Information and Quality Authority under the new system which started in July.
The Department of Health says the costs should be met by homes themselves, while HIQA has said the fee is not payable by residents or families and only fees set out in the contract for care can be charged.
Minister for Health Mary Harney told the annual conference that the regulation of homes should be paid for homes themselves, just like doctors, nurses and dentists pay for their own regulation.
She said she would take grave exception to residents or families having to meet these charges.
However, NHI chief executive Tadhg Daly said that for many mid-sized nursing homes, the new charges meant the difference between breaking even and going under and represented a Government levy.
He said that nursing homes had campaigned for a new inspection regime but were concerned with the charges, given that the fee in Northern Ireland, under a comparative system, is just £49.
Mr Daly said that nursing homes now had to cope with radically altered circumstances with new demands and regulation.
The organisation has also called for some services, such as therapies, ophthalmic and dental care, to be included in the new Fair Deal nursing home support system, which comes into effect next week.
It says there may be waiting lists for nursing home places if the Fair Deal scheme is not properly funded.
