Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and thank her for the work she has done on the fair deal scheme. Last year, in particular, when there was a substantial backlog associated with the discharging of people from hospitals, she and the Minister got involved and came up with additional funding. As a result, the waiting time for admittance to nursing homes has been reduced from 16 weeks to less than four. That is a very welcome development.

The issue I am raising, with which the Minister of State is very familiar, is especially related to people in the farming community. I am dealing with a number of cases in this regard, one of which concerns a widow who developed Parkinson's disease and who is now in full-time care. Her family is paying over €2,500 per month to the nursing home. The farm is not generating sufficient income for someone to make a living from it. The land now has to be rented, rather than farmed by the family.The three-year rule is the one that particularly affects them, and this will continue ad infinitum. There are costs associated with the fair deal scheme. Almost €1 billion per annum is being provided, which is a substantial sum out of the health budget. However, people in the farming community in particular feel they are being penalised, and I hope we can work towards changing it. I would welcome the Minister's comments.