Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 186: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the changes made in relation to subvention; and the breakdown of the changes in relation to the people who applied for subvention. [4515/06]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The nursing home subvention scheme was introduced in 1993 on foot of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations 1993, which were made under section 7 of the Nursing Homes Act 1990. These regulations laid down the criteria for assessing a person's eligibility for subvention, as well as the maximum amounts of subvention that may be paid to an eligible person.

The Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations 1993 are administered by the Health Service Executive. There are currently three rates of subvention payable, €114.30, €152.40 and €190.50 for the three levels of dependency which are medium, high and maximum. Included in these payments is an increase of 25% which came into effect in April 2001. These rates remain in effect.

The HSE may pay more than the maximum rate of subvention relative to an individual's level of dependency in a case, for example, where personal funds are exhausted. The application of these provisions in an individual case is a matter for the HSE in the context of meeting increasing demands for subvention subject to the provisions of the Health Act 2004. The average rate of subvention paid by the HSE generally exceeds the current approved basic rates. Additional funding of €20 million was provided for the administration of the scheme for 2006, bringing the total available budget to €160 million.

Certain thresholds were set in the 1993 regulations in relation to the means and assets of a person applying for a subvention. These thresholds had not been updated since they were set in 1993. Amendment Regulations (the Nursing Homes (Subvention) (Amendment) Regulations, 2005), amended the thresholds contained in the 1993 regulations by increasing the threshold of assets to be disregarded for the purposes of subvention assessment from £6,000, €7,618, to €11,000, increasing the asset threshold above which subvention may be refused from £20,000, €25,394, to €36,000 and increasing the threshold of principal residence value above which subvention may be refused from £75,000, €95,230, to €500,000 or more, where the residence is located in the Dublin area, or €300,000 or more, where the residence is located outside the Dublin area, provided that the applicant's income is greater than €9,000, previously £5,000 or €6,349.