Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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477. To ask the Minister for Health if the valuation of a person's home under the fair deal scheme is the valuation at the time of application or if there are circumstances under which a later valuation would be used in the means assessment; if so, the details of the circumstances; and the precise statutory instrument and part of that instrument on which the timing of the valuation is based. [6116/17]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their income and assets while the State pays the balance of the cost. The Scheme aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings. A financial assessment is carried out by the HSE to determine how much a participant in the Scheme will contribute to the cost of their care.

Section 44(4) of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act, 2009 provides for applications for financial support to be accompanied by valuations of assets. Schedule 1, Part 3, Section 1 of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act, 2009 defines the estimated market value as the price the asset would fetch on the open market on the date on which the application for financial support is made to the HSE. In cases where an applicant owns his/her principal private residence, the value of that residence for the purposes of the financial assessment element of the Scheme must be the price that the property would fetch on the open market on the date on which the application for State support is first made. However, under Section 10 of the legislation, the HSE does not have to accept a valuation submitted by an applicant and may seek its own independent valuation of a particular asset. If a review of a person's financial assessment is requested at any stage during their time in a nursing home, the value of their principal residence remains at the amount of the valuation as at the time of the initial application. Importantly, the person's principal residence is only included in the financial assessment for the first three years that an individual receives care services.