FG: Farm families to suffer under nursing home scheme
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.
Mr Connaughton, who was speaking at the committee stage of the bill to give effect to the scheme, said that the Government was making a “monumental mistake” in not capping the assets, other than the house, for three years.
“From where I stand I think this is a huge problem. It is going to split families for generations,” he warned.
Health Minister Mary Harney said she would look again at the scheme, taking into account the situation raised by Mr Connaughton where a farm was a family’s livelihood and a parent was in care for a long time.
She pointed out that a farm could be transferred into the ownership of a family member but the charge put on it under the scheme would have to be paid.
The minister, who indicated that the scheme would be introduced by next September, said resources for the scheme were capped and access to the scheme would be based on eligibility rather than entitlement, an issue that would be covered in separate legislation.
Ms Harney also pointed out that money provided for the scheme this year would be sufficient to meet current demand.
The minister said she had to reject an amendment proposed by Labour’s Jan O’Sullivan that would allow the Health Service Executive to report to the Oireachtas each year on how much the service cost.
Ms O’Sullivan said there was concern that people would not be able to avail of the scheme because of a lack of funding. Her amendment was later defeated.
Age Ireland Action spokesman Eamon Timmons was disappointed that the minister failed to clarify what people qualifying under the scheme would be entitled to.
“We are no clearer today as to what essential service the charge will cover,” he said.
There was concern that people in nursing homes would be asked to pay for services such as physiotherapy and chiropody. And, he said, the minister had failed to identify how much money would be needed to fund the scheme.
