“Minister Daly gave a commitment to introduce a change to the Fair Deal Scheme that would mean a three-year cap on the time a charge on productive farm assets would apply. This change is subject to the approval of the Attorney General and the Cabinet,” IFA president Joe Healy said following a meeting with the minsiter on Wednesday.

The three-year cap already applies to the private home of a person entering the nursing home support scheme, known as Fair Deal. The three-year cap extends to all property in some restrictive cases of sudden illness.

However, most farmers entering the scheme are currently liable to pay an annual charge based on 7.5% of the value of their farming property without any limitation in time. This means that a person spending 13 years in a nursing home would owe the full value of their farm in care contributions, leaving nothing to the next generation.

Legal opinion

Minister Daly told the IFA that he is awaiting legal opinion from the Attorney General on the proposed changes, and will then bring the proposed changes to the Cabinet for approval. All small business assets are understood to be covered by the proposal, which should ensure a legal green light.

He added that implementation will require an amendment to the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2008, which would take several months to pass through the Oireachtas. The Government had previously given a commitment to reform the scheme as part of Budget 2018 but warned of legislative delays to see it through. The Irish Farmers Journal understand it will take until the end of this year to draft amendments to the 2008 act.

IFA farm family chair Maura Canning called for a commitment from the minister to introduce the proposed changes as soon as possible, adding that the uncapped liability on the farm was causing untold stress to those farm families affected.

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