Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My understanding is that the same premise applies. When an applicant retires or ceases working the farm or business prior to entering long-term care, it is expected that his or her partner or the family successor will have taken over the farm. The cap will first apply when the person has spent three years in a nursing home. This is the amendment we are introducing in respect of the sale of the home once a successor has been appointed. The most important aspect of the Bill is that an applicant must appoint a successor to avail of what we are trying to achieve. The premise of the Bill is to support small farm families and businesses to retain the farm or small business while a person is in a nursing home.

Previously, as Deputy Durkan has said, the individual might have been in a nursing home for five or six years. The cap that applies to people who are in a nursing home is the same as applies under the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, and relates to one's principal private residence. This will now apply to people who are small farm or business owners who will not be penalised after the three-year cap period.