Vol. 541 No. 2
550 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will clarify the situation regarding the means test for nursing home subvention where moneys which have been paid by court order in respect of compensation for accidental injury; if these moneys can be treated as savings, or separate and distinct from savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22039/01]
The Second Schedule of the Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, sets out the general rules for the assessment of means in respect of an application for a nursing home subvention. "Means" for the purposes of these regulations are the income and the imputed value of assets of a person in respect of whom a subvention is being sought and the income and imputed income of his or her spouse.
Section 2 states, "In calculating the means of a person in respect of whom a subvention has been sought, a health board shall take all sources of income into account, including wages, salary, pension, allowances, payments for part time and seasonal work, income from rentals, investments and savings and all contributions from whomsoever arising."
Section 7 states, "A health board may consider any asset of the person in respect of whom a subvention has been sought as a source of funding for nursing home care". In addition, section 8 states, "A health board may take the value of the following assets into account in assessing the means of a person in respect of whom a nursing home subvention has been sought: house property, excluding normal household chattels; stocks, shares or securities; money on hands, in trust, lodged, deposited or invested; interests in a company or business of any kind, including a farm; interest in land; life assurance or endowment policies; valuables held as investments and current value of equipment of a business or machinery, excluding a car, not covered under a previous heading."
Means are assessed for this scheme to ensure that the available funding is directed at those older people who have the greatest need of financial assistance.
