Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 217: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if applicants for the nursing home support scheme who have been in a nursing home for over three years before applying for the scheme will be subject to the 5% levy on their assets for the first three years they are in the scheme; if not, if they have to supply evidence of their assets other that their State pension with their application for the scheme when they previously disclosed these as part of their subvention application. [19939/10]

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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A person's contribution to care under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme is worked out based on 80% of their assessable income and 5% of the value of their assets per annum. The first €36,000 of a person's assets, or €72,000 in the case of a couple, is not included at all in the assessment.

A person's home is only included in the financial assessment for their first three years in long-term nursing home care. Time spent in nursing home care prior to applying for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme is taken into account in calculating the three years. Assets other than a person's home are taken into account for the duration of their stay in nursing home care.

Finally, evidence of all assets, e.g. valuations or bank statements, is required to be submitted with a person's application for the scheme. If a person has previously disclosed assets in connection with an application for subvention, they must still provide evidence of these assets when submitting an application under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme. This enables the HSE to take account of money that has been spent since the application for subvention to ensure that the person's contribution towards their care is fair.