Vol. 481 No. 3
123 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children if he intends to increase the threshold above which the circumstances of a son or daughter are assessed by the health board to establish if he or she is in a position to contribute towards the cost of care in a nursing home of a parent who has qualified for nursing home subvention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16046/97]
A number of changes have been made to the subvention scheme under the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990, by amending regulations which came into effect on 31 July 1996.
One such amendment increased the threshold above which the circumstances of a son or daughter are assessed by a health board to establish if he or she is in a position to contribute towards the cost of care in a nursing home of a parent who has qualified for a nursing home subvention. There are no plans at this stage to make further increases to this threshold.
The overall operation of the subvention scheme, including the need for amendments to the regulations, is kept under review by my Department in consultation with the health boards.
