Rose spends 353 per week to care for infirm mother

ROSE HARRINGTON finds herself in the dilemma increasingly faced by families of elderly parents - how to pay for their upkeep in old age.

Bernie Harrington is almost 84 and no longer sound of mind. Rose, 43, has a two-year-old son. She is a self-employed hackney driver struggling to pay a mortgage on a new house in Cobh, Co Cork.

The cost of paying for her mother’s weekly upkeep in a private nursing home is 650. The Southern Health Board helps Rose with the payment to the tune of 142 per week (known as a subvention payment).