Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased this motion has been brought before the House. A commitment has been given in the programme for Government. When the Minister of State was speaking, she made a couple of points. She talked about planned succession. That is grand in a perfect world but, unfortunately, family farms and small businesses do not have the ability to generate the income to support two families. This delays the transfer of assets. In the vast majority of cases, the assets can be transferred only when parents reach an advanced age. It is due to the ability of the assets to generate income. In the world we live in today, marriage breakup is an issue. The older generation fears that if they transfer their assets, they will be lost to the family. This is a huge stumbling block in the transfer of assets. Both of these factors slow down the transfer of farms and small businesses. If we are to talk about a fair deal scheme, we must live in the real world and realise what happens in reality.

As the Minister of State said, the Revenue Commissioners have recognised that when farm assets or small businesses are being transferred, tax reliefs exist to ensure they remain viable after the transfer or succession. When we have got the Revenue Commissioners to recognise that agricultural relief or business relief must be in place, it is incumbent on us that when implementing a scheme for nursing home support, we apply the same principle of fairness.

The bottom line is that family farms and small businesses are a family's means of generating a living, or a livelihood. The family farm or small business just does not have the ability to carry a huge, onerous burden after the death of one member of the family. People are currently opting out of sending their elderly parents to a nursing home because of the way the scheme is designed. This is denying people the best of care in many circumstances. People try to mind elderly parents at home when, in fact, a nursing home might be where they should be. We must recognise that, in modern society, assets are not transferred by parents early in life to the younger generation. A business does not have the ability to carry the burden of a nursing home loan after the death of the individual.

Another considerable worry is sudden illness and disability. If a farmer is struck down by a stroke or another condition, he could be hospitalised or in a nursing home for a very long period.

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I hope that the commitments that were given in the programme for Government will be honoured and that we can have a fair deal scheme that recognises the income that an asset can generate rather than its value. We have a saying that a lot of small businesses and farmers will live life as paupers and die as millionaires. That is the truth about family assets. The assets are worth a lot of money, but they are there to generate an income for the next generation. When the Government modifies this scheme, I hope that it will put it in such a way that family farms and small businesses can avail of it and not carry a huge burden on to the next generation.

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