Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 28 Mar 2002

Vol. 551 No. 4

Written Answers. - Nursing Home Subventions.

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

153 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Health and Children the regulations in relation to health board nursing home subventions; if they are similar for all health boards; the way in which ownership of a house is considered if there is a spouse or adult child living in it or if the house is empty; if means or income from it is on the basis of value, rental or notional basis; if actual rather than notional is taken into account if rented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10914/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The second schedule of the Nursing Homes (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. Paragraph 2 of the second schedule provides that, in calculating the means of an applicant, a health board shall take all sources of income into account, including income from rentals. 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.

Articles 8.1 and paragraphs 12 to 14 of the second schedule of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, deal with the assessment of the residence of a person in respect of whom subvention has been sought for the purposes of determining the amount of subvention to be paid. The residence of the person seeking a subvention is treated as a special asset and is not taken into account in certain circumstances, that is, if it is occupied by the spouse of the person seeking a subvention or by a son or daughter less then 21 years of age or in full time education or by a relative in receipt of the old age non-contributory pension or a disability allowance type payment.

The purpose of this rule is to avoid causing undue hardship where the home of a person going into nursing home care is occupied by a dependent relative. If the principal residence is not occupied by a relative falling into the above categories a health board may impute an annual amount of 5% of the estimated market value of the residence as income.

Section 22 of the regulations set out an exclusion whereby a health board may refuse to pay a subvention to a person if his or her principal residence is valued at £75,000 or more and is not occupied by a spouse, a son or daughter aged less than 21 years or in full time education or a relative in receipt of the disabled person's maintenance allowance, blind person's pension, disability benefit, invalidity pension, or old age non-contributory pension and the person's income is greater than £5,000 per annum.

My Department is currently examining a number of aspects of the nursing home regulations including a review of the value of the principal residence for the purposes of the exclusion clause.