The Fair Deal Scheme, also known as the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, provides financial support to help pay for the cost of care in a nursing home.
It is overseen by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Under the scheme, a farmer will pay a certain amount towards the cost of their nursing home care and the HSE pays the remainder. It covers approved private nursing homes, voluntary nursing homes and public nursing homes.
When an applicant applies to the Fair Deal, their care needs are assessed by the HSE to confirm that they need long-term nursing home care.
Alongside this, a farmer’s financial situation is assessed by the HSE to determine how much they can pay towards the cost of the nursing home. Assets including farms, land, savings and other property are included in this financial evaluation.
Once the evaluation is complete, the HSE then pays the balance between what it determines a farmer can pay for their care and what the nursing home charges for that care.
The average Fair Deal rate an individual pays in Ireland is about €950/week or €49,400/year. Nursing home fees in Ireland can range from an approximate €1,500-€2,000/week or €78,000-€104,000/ year.
What does it cover?
The Fair Deal covers nursing home accommodation and food, nursing and personal care, laundry service, basic aids and appliances necessary for everyday living.
It does not cover short-term care such as respite, convalescent or day-care or extra fees charged by the nursing home for additional services and activities.
Costs
In determining what an individual or couple can contribute for nursing home care, the HSE completes the following calculations.
For a single individual, the fee will be based off 80% of weekly income and 7.5% of the person’s home value, excluding the first €36,000 of that value.
The average Fair Deal rate an individual pays in Ireland is about €950/week or €49,400/year.
Under this regime, someone earning €280 per week with no cash savings and a home worth €250,000 (less the first €36,000) will be expected to pay weekly nursing home fees of €224 (from income) and €309 (from house value), or a total of €533/week. This amounts to a yearly nursing home bill of €27,698 for the single individual and the HSE will pay the rest.
The three-year cap on the inclusion of 7.5% of the individual’s home asset value will mean that after three years, they will pay a lower fee of €224/week or €11,648.
For a couple paying nursing home fees, if one or both of them are in care, the HSE financial valuation is based off 40% of their combined income and 3.75% of half their combined cash assets. Up to €72,000 of these cash assets are, however, disregarded.
Farms
Family-owned farms and businesses can be included in the three-year cap on the inclusion of assets under the Fair Deal Scheme if they meet certain conditions. A farmer or farm-owning couple must apply if they want their farm assets to be included.
The conditions include that the farmer or farm couple must notify the HSE of an appointed farm successor who is 18 years old or older and is related to the applicant(s).
The farm successor must commit to farming the land for at least six years from the date of their appointment as a successor.
Before appointing the successor, the farm must have been run by the individual seeking the nursing home care, one of the couple seeking the nursing home care, or the proposed farm successor for at least three of the five years prior to admission to care.
Fairness
However, notwithstanding the three-year cap, the Fair Deal Scheme, in some cases, is still actually “not fair” on some farm families, according to ifac senior accountant Con O’Connell.
Speaking at the IFA’s recent farm succession meeting in Carlow, O’Connell warned farmers of the need to be conscious of the implications of inherited land, once the Fair Deal Scheme comes into play.
The IFA farm family and farm business committee's fielded questions from several farmers on the Fair Deal Scheme. \ Donal O'Leary
“If assets are left on inheritance, there is a chance there that the Fair Deal Scheme can come into play. There’s a three-year maximum that the HSE could take off the charge on the farm.
“That amounts to potentially €150,000 or more, so that’s as bad or worse than any [farm transfer] tax bill you’d be looking at,” he said.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, O’Connell said that there are still farmers having to sell land to afford their nursing home care. He described how the issue has been exacerbated by recently inflated land values.
He said that for a single farmer, such as an elderly bachelor, when you take a 100ac farm now valued at €15,000/ac or €1.5m in total, a 7.5% charge on the land value (€112,500) is “above any normal nursing home fee”.
O’Connell suggested that there are a number of farmers having to sell land to bring down their land valuation charge and to afford their nursing home bill.
‘Big factor’
Agricultural consultant Mike Brady said the Fair Deal is a “big factor on the table when you’re discussing farm succession these days”.
“If you’re 66 years of age, you have the choice of transferring all the farm to the kids and the State will look after you if you need a nursing home.
“Some people give everything to the son or daughter to keep it from the HSE or State. You can manage it and it’s more manageable now than before.”
Several farmers at the IFA farm succession event raised questions about the Fair Deal Scheme and reported confusion as to how it works in practice.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, and wishing to remain anonymous, one elderly bachelor farmer from Cork said: “It’s all very complex and even listening tonight, I’m still not sure where I need to go with it. There’s no one coming along behind me on the farm unless I give it to my sister’s grandson and even at that, he wouldn’t have a whole lot of interest.
“I would worry about the Fair Deal and how I might be cared for in future. I’m not sure if it’s something I should go for. I have the land but I would hate to see the value of it go to the State.”
Michael and Sinéad are married and farm in Co Wexford. They have a farm worth €400,000 and a dwelling house worth €100,000. The couple’s annual combined income is €26,000. They also have savings of €80,000.
Sinéad now requires nursing home care and for this, the couple will be asked to pay annual fees of €29,450, based on:
40% of €26,000 income = €10,400.3.75% of cash assets over €72,000 (€8,000) = €300.3.75% of €100,000 house asset = €3,750.3.75% of €400,000 farm = €15,000.After three years, when the three-year cap on the inclusion of the farm asset comes into play, the couple will pay a lower €14,450 for Sinéad’s care. However, in order for the three-year cap to be applicable, Michael and Sinéad must have appointed a farm successor and he or she must continue to run the farm for six years. Without an appointed successor, 3.75% of the farm value will continue to be charged annually by the HSE.
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The Fair Deal Scheme, also known as the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, provides financial support to help pay for the cost of care in a nursing home.
It is overseen by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Under the scheme, a farmer will pay a certain amount towards the cost of their nursing home care and the HSE pays the remainder. It covers approved private nursing homes, voluntary nursing homes and public nursing homes.
When an applicant applies to the Fair Deal, their care needs are assessed by the HSE to confirm that they need long-term nursing home care.
Alongside this, a farmer’s financial situation is assessed by the HSE to determine how much they can pay towards the cost of the nursing home. Assets including farms, land, savings and other property are included in this financial evaluation.
Once the evaluation is complete, the HSE then pays the balance between what it determines a farmer can pay for their care and what the nursing home charges for that care.
The average Fair Deal rate an individual pays in Ireland is about €950/week or €49,400/year. Nursing home fees in Ireland can range from an approximate €1,500-€2,000/week or €78,000-€104,000/ year.
What does it cover?
The Fair Deal covers nursing home accommodation and food, nursing and personal care, laundry service, basic aids and appliances necessary for everyday living.
It does not cover short-term care such as respite, convalescent or day-care or extra fees charged by the nursing home for additional services and activities.
Costs
In determining what an individual or couple can contribute for nursing home care, the HSE completes the following calculations.
For a single individual, the fee will be based off 80% of weekly income and 7.5% of the person’s home value, excluding the first €36,000 of that value.
The average Fair Deal rate an individual pays in Ireland is about €950/week or €49,400/year.
Under this regime, someone earning €280 per week with no cash savings and a home worth €250,000 (less the first €36,000) will be expected to pay weekly nursing home fees of €224 (from income) and €309 (from house value), or a total of €533/week. This amounts to a yearly nursing home bill of €27,698 for the single individual and the HSE will pay the rest.
The three-year cap on the inclusion of 7.5% of the individual’s home asset value will mean that after three years, they will pay a lower fee of €224/week or €11,648.
For a couple paying nursing home fees, if one or both of them are in care, the HSE financial valuation is based off 40% of their combined income and 3.75% of half their combined cash assets. Up to €72,000 of these cash assets are, however, disregarded.
Farms
Family-owned farms and businesses can be included in the three-year cap on the inclusion of assets under the Fair Deal Scheme if they meet certain conditions. A farmer or farm-owning couple must apply if they want their farm assets to be included.
The conditions include that the farmer or farm couple must notify the HSE of an appointed farm successor who is 18 years old or older and is related to the applicant(s).
The farm successor must commit to farming the land for at least six years from the date of their appointment as a successor.
Before appointing the successor, the farm must have been run by the individual seeking the nursing home care, one of the couple seeking the nursing home care, or the proposed farm successor for at least three of the five years prior to admission to care.
Fairness
However, notwithstanding the three-year cap, the Fair Deal Scheme, in some cases, is still actually “not fair” on some farm families, according to ifac senior accountant Con O’Connell.
Speaking at the IFA’s recent farm succession meeting in Carlow, O’Connell warned farmers of the need to be conscious of the implications of inherited land, once the Fair Deal Scheme comes into play.
The IFA farm family and farm business committee's fielded questions from several farmers on the Fair Deal Scheme. \ Donal O'Leary
“If assets are left on inheritance, there is a chance there that the Fair Deal Scheme can come into play. There’s a three-year maximum that the HSE could take off the charge on the farm.
“That amounts to potentially €150,000 or more, so that’s as bad or worse than any [farm transfer] tax bill you’d be looking at,” he said.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, O’Connell said that there are still farmers having to sell land to afford their nursing home care. He described how the issue has been exacerbated by recently inflated land values.
He said that for a single farmer, such as an elderly bachelor, when you take a 100ac farm now valued at €15,000/ac or €1.5m in total, a 7.5% charge on the land value (€112,500) is “above any normal nursing home fee”.
O’Connell suggested that there are a number of farmers having to sell land to bring down their land valuation charge and to afford their nursing home bill.
‘Big factor’
Agricultural consultant Mike Brady said the Fair Deal is a “big factor on the table when you’re discussing farm succession these days”.
“If you’re 66 years of age, you have the choice of transferring all the farm to the kids and the State will look after you if you need a nursing home.
“Some people give everything to the son or daughter to keep it from the HSE or State. You can manage it and it’s more manageable now than before.”
Several farmers at the IFA farm succession event raised questions about the Fair Deal Scheme and reported confusion as to how it works in practice.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, and wishing to remain anonymous, one elderly bachelor farmer from Cork said: “It’s all very complex and even listening tonight, I’m still not sure where I need to go with it. There’s no one coming along behind me on the farm unless I give it to my sister’s grandson and even at that, he wouldn’t have a whole lot of interest.
“I would worry about the Fair Deal and how I might be cared for in future. I’m not sure if it’s something I should go for. I have the land but I would hate to see the value of it go to the State.”
Michael and Sinéad are married and farm in Co Wexford. They have a farm worth €400,000 and a dwelling house worth €100,000. The couple’s annual combined income is €26,000. They also have savings of €80,000.
Sinéad now requires nursing home care and for this, the couple will be asked to pay annual fees of €29,450, based on:
40% of €26,000 income = €10,400.3.75% of cash assets over €72,000 (€8,000) = €300.3.75% of €100,000 house asset = €3,750.3.75% of €400,000 farm = €15,000.After three years, when the three-year cap on the inclusion of the farm asset comes into play, the couple will pay a lower €14,450 for Sinéad’s care. However, in order for the three-year cap to be applicable, Michael and Sinéad must have appointed a farm successor and he or she must continue to run the farm for six years. Without an appointed successor, 3.75% of the farm value will continue to be charged annually by the HSE.
Read more
Surge in farmer interest in pre-nuptial agreements
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