New nursing home deal for business and farm families
FAMILIES who own businesses and farms will get a new deal on nursing home fees in the Budget, the Irish Independent has learned.
The changes to the Fair Deal scheme will protect farm and business assets for the first time.
A Government plan to overhaul Fair Deal will see the introduction of a three-year cap on contributions from farms and businesses.
This will dramatically reduce the financial burden facing elderly people and their loved ones.
Under the current scheme, families pay a 7.5pc annual contribution on their principal residence for a maximum of three years.
However, the three-year cap does not apply to farmland or business premises – meaning the financial burden facing farmers and business owners is much greater. Farming lobby groups say such rules can place the very viability of the farm for future generations at risk.
But the Irish Independent can reveal that Older People Minister Jim Daly has decided to introduce the same three-year cap on farm and business assets, in a bid to slash the bills facing thousands of families.
The plan, which now requires approval from Attorney General Seamus Woulfe, was discussed last night during a meeting between Mr Daly and the Irish Farmers’ Association.
If given the green light, it is likely to bring the long-running controversy over Fair Deal and farmers to an end.
Last month, the Irish Independent revealed changes to the State’s nursing home scheme were on the way.
FAMILIES are set to save thousands of euro in nursing home fees under a Budget deal that will protect their farm and business assets for the first time, the
Irish Independent can reveal. The Government’s plan to overhaul Fair Deal will see the introduction of a three-year cap on contributions from farms and businesses.
This will dramatically reduce the financial burden facing elderly people and their loved ones.
Under the current scheme, families pay a 7.5pc annual contribution on their principal residence for a maximum of three years. However, the three-year cap does not apply to farmland or business premises – meaning the financial burden facing farmers and business owners is much greater.
Farming lobby groups say such rules can place the very viability of the farm for future generations at risk.
But the Irish Independent can reveal that Older People Minister Jim Daly has decided to introduce the same threeyear cap on assets, in a bid to slash the bills facing thousands of families.
The plan, which now requires approval from Attorney General Seamus Woulfe, was discussed last night during a meeting between Mr Daly and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
If given the green light, it is likely to bring the long-running controversy over Fair Deal and farmers to an end.
The Irish Independent revealed last month that the proposed changes to the State’s nursing home support scheme were running into difficulty following an intervention from
the Attorney General.
The State’s legal adviser stepped in and warned the Government that any changes to the scheme must not reward farmers over other business owners.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also intervened in the debate, warning that farmers and small business owners must be treated in the same way as they can both face huge financial burdens when looking after their elderly loved ones.
Amid the controversy, the IFA has insisted it was not looking for any special treatment.
Under the Fair Deal scheme at present, a claimant’s payment is calculated based on 80pc of their annual income, as well as a 7.5pc annual charge on their overall assets.
Assets that have been transferred within the previous five years are also means-tested.
But the 7.5pc is capped at three years for the residential property – it runs indefinitely on the land or business asset.
Exceptional cases are made when the farmer or business owner becomes ill or disabled suddenly and there is a family successor identified.
Now, as a result of the measures being introduced by Mr Daly, the same three-year cap that currently applies to the home will be extended to assets.
Senior Government sources say it is expected the changes will be announced formally on Budget day. It will represent a major success for the Government, which has been under intense pressure to overhaul Fair Deal for many months.
The IFA had sought a number of other measures as part of its pre-Budget submission.
One proposal would result in 90pc of farm assets being exempt from consideration when it comes to nursing home bills. However, Government sources say this is unlikely to be delivered upon.
The lobby group also wants to reduce the period within which the State can target assets that have been transferred onto the farmer’s children in the context of Fair Deal from five years to three.