Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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263. To ask the Minister for Health the date on which his Department is working towards to introduce the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021 to the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28044/21]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Nursing Homes Support Scheme, commonly referred to as the Fair Deal Scheme, has been in operation for over 10 years and there is broad agreement that the Scheme operates well and continues to provide appropriate financial assistance where it is required.

However, it is recognised that the Act, in its current form, does not place caps on the financial assessment of family owned and operated farms or businesses when calculating the means to pay for nursing home care. This places a potentially onerous burden on family successors and could challenge the future viability of these productive assets.

Therefore, the Department of Health has proposed a policy change to the Scheme, to cap contributions based on farm and business assets at three years where a family successor commits to working the productive asset. The stated policy objective of the legislation is to introduce additional safeguards in the Scheme to further protect the viability and sustainability of family farms and businesses that will be passed down to the next generation of the family to continue to work them as productive assets to provide for their livelihood.

This change was approved by Government and underwent pre-legislative scrutiny in the last Dáil. Progress on the development of the Bill was negatively impacted by the dissolution of the last Dáil and by the COVID-19 pandemic. The response to the pandemic has been and continues to be a national and public health priority. However, the Programme for Government committed to introducing this amendment to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme and I am pleased to say that Cabinet approved the publication of the Bill on the 11th May. The Bill completed Second Stage in Dáil Éireann 18th-20th May and was referred to the Select Committee on Health. It passed Committee Stage today, 30th June, and is due for Report and Final Stage in the coming weeks. It is expected that the Bill will be enacted prior to the summer recess and will commence shortly thereafter.