Meeting to address nursing home scheme ‘confusion’

A public meeting at Kilrush Golf Club on Monday at 8pm will focus on what Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen terms the “confusion” surrounding the introduction of the Government’s new Nursing Home Support Scheme, known as Fair Deal, which came into effect last October.

Speakers at the meeting, organised by Deputy Breen, will include a representative from the HSE, Paul Woulfe, Citizens’ Information and local Kilrush solicitor, Gearóid Williams.
It is hoped that the meeting will provide a forum for people living in West Clare to have some of their questions answered as to how the scheme operates and who qualifies for it.
“Since the Nursing Home Support Scheme, Fair Deal came into effect, 5,200 applications nationwide were made under the scheme by the end of December 2009. On average, applications are taking four to six weeks to process, with more complex applications taking up to six and eight weeks,” the Fine Gael TD explained.
“I have been inundated with enquiries regarding the scheme and there is a lot of confusion out there as to how it operates and who qualifies. There are also a lot of issues surrounding property and transfer of assets. Under the scheme, people who are moving into a nursing home pay a maximum of 80% of their income towards the cost of their care, based on a HSE assessment of their assets.
“Many people have questions regarding this financial assessment and also the role of a care representative, who is appointed by the Circuit Court to act on behalf of a person who is applying for a nursing home loan and who may have reduced capacity or who suffers from dementia,” he added.