Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of the disproportionate capital value of land relative to its capacity to generate an income, she will abandon proposals to charge land owners for long-term hospital stay of their elderly relatives in a matter which is directly related to the capital value of the land rather than the income generated therefrom. [23237/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to A Fair Deal, the new Nursing Home Support Scheme which is due to commence on 1 January 2008. The current system of nursing home support is not predictable or sustainable. People who need care face different costs depending on whether they are in public or private nursing homes. People in private nursing homes may qualify for a nursing home subvention but are otherwise required to meet the full costs of their care. Subventions are means-tested and take a person's income and assets into account. In particular, the means test imputes an income of 5% from housing assets, and effectively assumes people have a higher assessable income than they currently have.

Therefore, many people who do get support, as subvention payments cannot afford to pay the balance of their costs. As a result, people are sometimes forced to sell or mortgage their homes to pay for their care, or must rely on contributions from their family or friends. Many people do not receive any support from the State

The Fair Deal aims to remedy the above situation. Under the new scheme, a person will make a contribution towards their care costs and the State will meet the full balance of cost in homes approved for the purpose. This will ensure that long-term residential care is affordable for all who need it. The means assessment for the scheme will work out how much the applicant can contribute to the cost of their care by taking into account their income and assets. For the purposes of equity, it is important that the means assessment takes account of both types of means.

The immediate contribution by the applicant towards the cost of their care will be based on 80% of their assessable income, i.e. Old Age Pension, private pensions, etc. Depending on the amount of assessable income, there will also be a Deferred Contribution of up to 5% on the applicant's assets, such as their home. The contribution is deferred because it will not have to paid during the applicant's lifetime. Of course, the person can choose to pay the contribution on assets at the time of receiving care if they so wish. Under A Fair Deal, anyone who is assessed as needing long-term nursing care can apply for support under the scheme. The scheme is voluntary. Every person will make a fair contribution to the cost of their care, based on their means.