Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Following on from what the three previous speakers said, I have advised people in recent years in situations where a family wanted to sell a house and the person in the nursing home agreed that it should be sold. The 7.5% had already been deducted, however. If the house was sold in those circumstances and the money lodged into a bank account, there would then be a further reassessment. This means that there is a disincentive to sell houses and this must be examined. I ask that this aspect be considered in the context of the legislation. This situation is preventing families from selling houses in situations where they know that one member of the family will never use a house again. They do not want to sell the house until the person concerned has passed away because a further penalty will be applied if they do. This situation must be addressed to encourage people to sell off houses and ensure that people who do so are not penalised a second time.