Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I explained to the Deputy, the measure in page B.6 assumes the full operation of the fair deal legislation by 1 January 2010. The point I am making is that, if the fundamental reform is to take place whereby all in receipt of nursing home care will pay no more than 80% of their income, regardless of whether they are in private or public nursing homes, one will not be able to argue so rigorously that the tax incentive introduced in the first place is required. If the new system were not to be in place, the present marginal rate would remain until the fair deal system became fully operational, at which stage we would review circumstances fully.

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