Applying For The Nursing Home Loan Scheme through A Specified Person

 

 

The nursing home loan plan is a complement to the Fair Deal Scheme given by the Health and Security Executive (HSE), as Ancillary State Support, which allows persons receiving nursing home care to delay the amount of the payment based on their assets (land or property). This implies that the HSE will pay the money to the nursing home on the applicant's behalf for the time being. And the money will be collected after the lifetime of the applicant, by selling the property or a portion of it.

 

Applicants that have reduced decision-making capacity, can apply for the scheme and the loan via a “specified person. Now who can be a specified person and how does the process work? Here is a detailed guideline.

 

The Scenario of Appointing a Specified Person for Applying to the Fair Deal Scheme and Ancillary State Support

 

The Nursing Home Support Scheme in Ireland doesn’t have an age limit, but the nature of the scheme leads to the majority of applicants being senior citizens. It is a consent-oriented policy that requires the applicant to sign the application form and be involved throughout the application process.

 

Now, senior citizens have an increased rate of physical and mental issues, as a result, many applicants have limited capacity to make decisions on their own. Therefore, there has to be a way how incapable individuals could avail the scheme since they are in utmost need of it.

 

In case the person applying for the scheme is incapable of making the decision, it is permissible to appoint another “specified” person to carry on with the procedures, on behalf of the applicant.

Who Needs A Specified Person And Who Will Be Approved To Have One

Specified persons are only approved for applications where the applicant is seriously ill or has reduced mental capacity to carry forward the process on their own.

There are many instances when the applicants are healthy and upright but not so savvy with the official procedures of the Fair Deal Scheme. And struggle to communicate with the HSE officials.

Such applicants often need a good deal of Fair Deal guidance and wish they had someone to help. In that case, a specified person will not be approved. As an alternative you can consult a Nursing Homes Support Scheme Guide, something like Tom Murray offers through his firm, the Fair Deal Advice.

 

Who Can Be A Specified Person

The HSE follows a set of priorities in approving a specified person under their guidelines. The Citizen Information have laid this out under first priority and lesser priority, which goes like the following:

●       First Priority

 The Committee representing a Ward of Court

1. A donee holding an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) who is not barred from applying for the Fair Deal Scheme or the Loan Support.
2. Care Representatives appointed by the Circuit Court

●       Lesser priority

The lesser priority usually involves family members, including spouses, children and other relatives that are above the minority age of 18. However, if the candidate is living alone, a well-wisher can get in touch with the Circuit Court to arrange for a “next friend”. Solicitors and legal representatives, registered doctors or medical professionals and social workers all fall under this group.

Remember that the First Priority special person would always have a greater advantage of approval over the lesser priority person. However, the priority may be passed by the committee or care representative to a lesser priority person, in the form of a written consent acting as the specified person.

Process of Getting the Nursing Home Loan Scheme through A Specified Person

With the new amendment launched in February 2022, the 3-year cap now applies to family residences and farmlands. Therefore the requirement for loan support has reduced for many families. But the scheme is still there well and good.

 

The process of getting through the ancillary state support remains the same for specified persons as it does for the applicants.

 

The special person's responsibility would be to obtain a written agreement to have a Charging Order recorded against the applicant's asset.  In case the asset is shared with an immediate family member like a husband, wife, or minor child, then the co-inhabitants must also sign a consent form, for the mortgaging of the property under HSE.