Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1464. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health the way the valuation of property is assessed in respect of the nursing home subvention scheme in cases in which the house in question was legally disposed of four years ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14302/21]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as Fair Deal, is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their means while the State pays the balance of the cost. The Scheme aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings.
In accordance with the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009, a person’s income and assets (including transferred assets) are financially assessed in order to calculate his/her contribution to care.
The financial assessment is based on 80% of assessable income and 7.5% of the value of the applicant’s cash assets and property assets.
In a situation where a person sold a property four years before applying for the scheme, the remaining proceeds of the sale will be assessed as cash assets as part of the person’s financial assessment.
Where a person transferred a property four years prior to first making an application for the scheme, the estimated market value of the transferred property at date of transfer will be included in the financial assessment.
A transferred asset is defined as an asset that was transferred for no consideration, for nominal consideration or for consideration which is less than 75% of its market value at the date of transfer.
It is important to note that where a transferred asset qualifies as a person’s principal residence, this asset is included in the financial assessment for the first three years that the person receives care services in a nursing home.
In addition to the preceding points, it should be noted that the financial assessment of means under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme is based on complex, primary legislation and therefore a number of individual considerations need to be taken into account for each application, depending on the applicant's specific circumstances.
