James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I utterly reject the last contribution. The Deputy referred to income tax in regard to the Bill. There is no relationship, but as he mentioned it increases in income tax are increases in taxes on work. We want to get people back to work because that is how the country will recover.

The contention of the Deputy that the proposal is taking money from older people is not the case. It is taking money from their estates which they leave behind to a maximum of three years. Nobody will pay more than the cost of care, but the Deputy probably believes nobody should pay anything towards his or her care and that a fantasy fairy will come from somewhere to support our health services and social care costs.

The first €36,000 of a person's assets, or €72,000 for a couple, is not taken into account during the financial assessment. The principal residence is only included in the financial assessment for the first three years of a person's time in care. Where an individual's assets include land and property in the State, the contribution based on such assets may be deferred and collected from his or her estate. This is the optional nursing home loan element of the scheme.

Individuals keep a personal allowance of 20% of their income or the maximum rate of the State non-contributory pension, whichever is the greater. Certain items of expenditure called allowable deductions can be taken into account during the financial assessment. These allowable deductions include health expenses. There is a financial review mechanism which takes account of the fluctuating value of assets and the fact that cash assets will naturally deplete over time as payments are made to nursing homes, etc.

Section 7 provides for an increase in such contributions from 5% to 7.5%, as announced in the budget. The proposed amendment seeks to retain the current asset contribution of 5% per annum, yet we all know how the value of assets has collapsed in the past five years. The latest CSO projections anticipate a significant increase in the over 65 population the coming years. Those aged over 80, which makes up approximately 70% of the long-stay nursing home population, is expected to increase even more dramatically.

Simply put, the funding available for services for older people is not increasing at the same rate as the population. The budget for the nursing home support scheme this year is €974 million. The State has limited resources. However, the demands being made of these resources continue to increase.

The increase in the asset contribution is necessary to ensure the sustainability of the scheme. When the legislation is enacted, the increase will only apply to new entrants to the scheme. Anyone who is already in receipt of financial support under the scheme will not be affected. The scheme contains several safeguards which ensure both the person in the nursing home and his or her spouse or partner, if applicable, will be adequately provided for. These safeguards are unaffected by the provisions of the Bill. The proposed amendment does not take account of the fact that section 7(h) provides that in the case of a couple, the total contribution based on the principal residence shall not exceed 22.5%. The amendment, if accepted, would create an anomaly in the legislation. As a result, I do not propose to accept it.

See this speech in context