FG: Farm families to suffer under nursing home scheme

FARM families could be hardest hit by the new Nursing Home Support Scheme because there is no cap on the non-cash assets of people seeking a nursing home bed, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.

Under the scheme, those eligible for a nursing home bed will contribute 80% of their disposable income, plus 5% of the value of any assets. While the charge is capped yearly at 5% of the value of their home, it does not apply to a farm or a business.

Fine Gael’s Paul Connaughton warned at a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children that the scheme would cause inheritance problems in farm families.