Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I wish to discuss the report's findings on nursing home subvention payments. Currently, 104 cases are before the High Court in respect of these payments. People feel they were forced to apply for subventions because of the shortage of public beds. Each HSE area uses a different method to meet the demand for nursing home subventions. I raised this matter on a number of occasions and have sought the assistance of the Labour Party spokespersons for health and older persons, Deputies McManus and Ryan, respectively, in doing so.

I am disappointed that the report did not highlight the problems which have arisen with regard to assessment of the principal residence. The subvention guidelines state that a claimant's home can be assessed if the value of the house is more than €500,000 in Dublin or €300,000 elsewhere. However, account should be taken of the occupant of the house when an application is made for subvention. That discrepancy will have to be addressed through guidelines. Under the current regime, the house will not be assessed if it is occupied by the claimant's spouse, a child under 21 years of age, a person in full-time education or someone in receipt of disability benefit, blind person's pension, invalidity pension or old age non-contributory pension. A person unfortunate enough to be in receipt of long-term unemployment assistance or a carer's allowance or who earns a small income faces the possibility that the house will be sold over his or her head. We have argued for change on this issue and will continue to do so.

The assessment of dependency does not reflect the charges imposed by nursing home owners. While the assessment provides for three different rates, owners pay little heed to them. There is little logic to the matter. If the assessment is to be made on a financial basis, it should be able to take account of the problems encountered by the people who apply for subvention. I hope we get another opportunity to discuss this serious issue.

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