Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1813. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health if he will postpone interest accrual under the fair deal scheme following the death of a nursing home resident until after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15548/21]
View answerThe 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 residential care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings.
Ancillary State Support is an optional feature of the Fair Deal Scheme for people who own property/land-based assets in the State. It is a loan advanced by the HSE to help people meet the portion of their contribution to the cost of care that is based on property/land-based assets.
Ancillary State Support becomes repayable following the occurrence of a relevant event, most commonly after the death of the client. After the death of the person in care, the loan must be repaid within 12 months. If the loan is not repaid within 12 months, interest will be applied. The interest will start from the date of death. The current interest rate is 0.0219% per day.
However, where the loan becomes repayable on the death of a client, the repayment of monies (based on the principal residence only) can be further deferred or postponed in certain cases. This is called ‘Further Deferral’.
An applicant for Further Deferral must be one of the following:
A spouse or partner,
A child (or the child of a spouse/ partner’s child) if they are under the age of 21 years or if their assets do not exceed the asset disregard of €36,000,
A sibling if their assets do not exceed the asset disregard of €36,000,
A relative in receipt of a disability or similar allowance, blind person’s pension, or the State pension (non-contributory), or whose income does not exceed the State pension (contributory),
A relative who is in receipt of a foreign pension or allowance similar to those outlined in (d) above,
A relative who owns a building to which the principal residence is attached (e.g. ‘a granny flat’), or
Any person who cared for an applicant prior to the latter entering the nursing home (this is defined by reference to relevant social welfare payments).
The individuals at (b)-(g) above are termed “connected persons” and they must also satisfy the following conditions:
The asset in question must be their only residence
They must have lived there for not less than 3 years preceding the original application for the Nursing Home Loan
They must not have an interest in any other property.
A further deferral application can then be made to the HSE within 90 days after the death of the client but not later than 180 days after the death of the client.
The Ancillary State Support loan amount must then be repaid to the Revenue Commissioners within 12 months from the date of death of the Connected Person or within 6 months from date of sale.
