Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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612. To ask the Minister for Health when as part of the Housing for All plans he expects any reform of the fair deal scheme to take place; the process by which this will take place; if he will provide an expected timeline on the commitment and the number of units he would expect may be brought back into use by any such changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43336/21]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as 'Fair Deal', is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. The primary legislation underpinning the NHSS is the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009. Participants in the NHSS contribute to the cost of their care according to their means 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.

The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Act 2021, which was signed into law on 22 July, introduced further safeguards in the NHSS to further protect the viability and sustainability of family farms and businesses. The principal amendment of this Act ensures that where the owners of farms and businesses go into long-term residential care, their contributions against those assets will be capped at 3 years, providing that a named family successor commits to running the asset for a period six years and certain other conditions are met.

It also includes an amendment in relation to applying the 3-year cap to the proceeds of sale of a house while a resident is in long-term care. This addresses the first relevant commitment in the Housing for All Strategy (action 19.7). 

Within the NHSS, the asset value of a resident's home, known in the Scheme as the "principal residence", is assessed for 3 years, with 7.5% of its value going towards the cost of care (3.75% in the case of a couple). After 3 years on the scheme, the value of this property is no longer assessed. In practice, this generally reduces the nursing home fees of those maintaining their home, from year four onwards. However, under previous rules, if it was sold, the resulting cash asset was assessable in full for the entire length of stay in care. This could act as a disincentive for those who might otherwise consider selling their homes. The 2021 Act now extends the 3-year cap to cover the proceeds of sale, so that a person will be able to sell their home without incurring additional fees from the fourth year onwards. The timeline set out in the legislation ensures that the Act will be operational by the end of October 2021. In the development of the legislative amendment it was projected that this change would bring up to between 330 and 580 homes to market each year, on average 2.25 years earlier than if sold when the resident left care.

As well as introducing the change above, the Department of Health has also agreed to action 19.8 in the Housing for All Strategy to develop a mechanism in relation to the rental of vacant properties "in a way that is targeted, equitable, evidence-based and provides appropriate safeguards for vulnerable older people". It is important to note that complex policy questions remain in meeting these criteria and there are high risks associated with unintended consequences. There is no existing exemption of rental or similar income from assessment within the Scheme and due care needs to be taken to ensure that any changes are appropriate; to protect and meet the needs of residents while also making provision for those in need of housing.

The NHSS is a complex €1.4 billion Scheme that relies on €350m of contributions from over 22,000 residents. It is important to ensure that the costs, benefits, and unintended consequences of any policy changes are fully understood and resolved before they are put in place.

The Department of Health and Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage continue to collaborate on this policy, including the identification of the number of houses that may be brought into use and the costs associated with the policy options available to address this action, with a view to introducing legislation as soon possible once this analysis and policy development is complete.