Fair deal scheme gets set for real change

Mary Butler, Minister of State with the Department of Health said elements of the fair deal scheme have affected farmers and small business owners. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Legislative proposals will be presented to the cabinet shortly to cap nursing home support scheme financial contributions based on farm and business assets at three years, where a family successor commits to working the productive asset.

Minister of State at the Department of Health Mary Butler said last week a finalised draft of a legislative bill has been signed by the Attorney General, concerning reform of the nursing home support scheme, commonly known as the fair deal scheme, The next steps are approval by the Government and debate by the Dáil and Seanad.

The fair deal scheme is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care. Minister of State Butler said unintended consequences have affected farmers and small business owners whose loved ones have been in nursing homes for in excess of three years.

She said: “Participants in the scheme contribute to the cost of their care according to their means while the State pays the balance of the cost. The less one has, the less one pays and the more one has, the more one pays.

“Under the scheme, the capital value of an individual's principal private residence is only included in the financial assessment for the first three years of his or her time in care. 

"During my work on the legislation, it was interesting to note that, as of November 2020, the average length of stay was 3.3 years, but that 37% of all persons in the scheme left it within six months of entry.

“That said, we want to make the scheme as fair as possible for those who are in nursing homes in excess of three years so that they can afford to stay there.

“It is recognised that the scheme in its current form does not place caps on the financial assessment of family-owned and operated farms or businesses when calculating the means to pay for nursing home care.

“Under existing provisions, caps only apply in cases of sudden illness or disability. I well appreciate that this may place a potentially onerous burden on family successors and could challenge the future viability of these productive assets.

“The imminent legislative amendment to the scheme seeks to address this issue by introducing additional safeguards in the scheme to protect further the viability and sustainability of family farms and businesses that will be passed down to the next generation of the family.

“The change to the scheme proposed by the Department of Health is to cap financial contributions based on farm and business assets at three years where a family successor commits to working the productive asset."

The progress with the legislation was welcomed in a Seanad debate last week by Senator Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail).

She said: “While fair deal is a lifeline for many, farmers and small business owners have been treated very harshly under the current conditions of the scheme. 

"As we know, under the scheme an annual levy of 7.5% on farmland applies to all elderly farmers for every year they avail of long-term nursing care. 

"For most people, this 7.5% per annum levy is limited to the first three years of the nursing home care but farmers and business owners face indefinite contributions on their assets, which in some cases threatens the very viability of their farm or business. 

"This clearly discriminates against the agricultural community and causes terrible hardship for young farmers who hope to inherit farmland. 

"It renders non-viable many farm holdings in rural Ireland.” Senator Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) warned that someone who is in nursing home care for up to 14 years will lose the farm completely."