Mr. Niall Redmond:

That point goes back to a question the Deputy asked earlier about when is a good time to pass on the asset to the next generation. Any asset that has been transferred over five years before someone goes into nursing home care is disregarded and not included in the financial assessment. I have said already, as have others, that I would strongly encourage all those who are involved in farming or a farm business to plan ahead, consider their succession options and put in place mechanisms for succession. If they do that, much of this conversation will have been unnecessary. We know that for various reasons and through no one's fault, that is sometimes not possible but, by and large, it is possible with good planning. I encourage as many people as possible to do that because we will not have to consider the asset within the financial assessment. It comes back to the purpose of the scheme, which is to provide financial support.

The State provides financial support to avail of nursing home care which is based on means. Those who have income and many assets pay more. That is the basic principle of the scheme.