James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the Minister commenting on the NTPF but the problem is whether there is an appeals process or an independent arbitrator in a case where there is no agreement on a fee between a nursing home and the NTPF. There is no cap on the assets or no recognition for a case where one of two or three siblings who have lived together on a farm for all their lives goes into care for ten years and accumulates a bill of €300,000 and to pay it the farm must be sold. The value of the farm may have increased or decreased, we have seen huge variations in land prices.

There is no regard for somebody with a rightful expectation of inheriting the farm, for example a nephew who worked on it. The same goes for business, as this is not just related to farming, where the relevant elderly people live over the business and a nephew or niece runs the business below, have an expectation and is remunerated by the people concerned with that in mind. Many stories have been recorded in well-written novels in this country of the disappointment and hardship people suffer when expectation is not met. This could turn into a nightmare for some people. If the Minister were able to offer some comfort on the issue, the Fine Gael Party would be less inclined to object to it.

See this speech in context