Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The premise of the new scheme is contingent on the family successor being appointed, which cannot happen until the amendment is enacted and commenced. It is a year since I was appointed to this role. It is a year today since I got the call from the Taoiseach. One of my priorities was to get this Bill through. We will have Report Stage before the summer recess. A huge amount of work has been done in the past six months to get this over the line but, unfortunately, there will be no refunds for contributions to cost of care for those who have already spent in excess of three years.

The scheme as it stands costs €1.4 billion per year while income from the scheme is €350 million. It is costing the State in excess of €1 billion. The amendment that will be moved at Report Stage on the cap on the sale of the house will be a further cost to the State. It was ruled out of order by the Bills Office because of the cost. We all know people in nursing homes for three, four or five years. Thankfully, there are not that many. Some 37% of people who enter nursing homes are in them for six months. A small minority are there for a long time but if they appoint a successor as soon as the Bill is enacted, the time served will mean the cap will be implemented almost immediately.