Farmers have been fighting for fairness in Fair Deal Scheme implementation for years now. Before, there was no clarity on inclusions under sudden illness or disability. Most farm families avoided the Nursing Home Support Scheme fearing loss of business value. The farmers really hoped for the financial assessment to be reduced to 3 years. They were constantly living in anxiety over being disqualified from the 3-year cap had they cared more about their loved ones at home. So, you can imagine how “fundamentally unfair” it appeared back then.
Things have
changed for the better now. If you belong to the farm family, operate its
business and looking to update yourself on the changes brought forward by the
HSE, go through this Fair
Deal Nursing Home Scheme guide. The upcoming sections have them highlighted
for your convenience.
3-Year Cap
on Family-Owned and Operated Farm Business Assets
A 3-year
cap, in simple terms, implies the inclusion of assets in the financial assessment
for the first three years that you are under nursing home care. So, if a beneficiary
of the scheme from a farming background pays a 7.5% contribution of their aggregate
asset value, it shall be limited to 3 years. A farmer is not entitled to
further payments after 3-years despite the person receiving long-term nursing
home care.
How to Make
Your Family-Owned Farm Business Eligible for the 3-Year Cap?
Enlisted are
the conditions to satisfy to qualify for the 3-year cap:
·
The
owner and operator of the farm business must apply to the Health Service
Executive (HSE) to appoint a family successor who commits to run the trade for
a minimum of 6 years.
·
The
applicant must actively run the farm business from on day-to-day basis. In the
absence of the person, his partner or a proposed family successor is allowed to
look after it. This should be a practice for the past 3-years, if not 5-years.
·
The
successor must be at least 18 years of age and either your partner, that of
your relatives or a relative himself/ herself.
·
The
farm property must have a charge in favour of the HSE.
If you have
ticked off all the qualifying criteria, you have safely made your way into the
3-year cap. However, please take note of the fact that you have the option of
taking up the Nursing Home
Loan Scheme only if you have a land-based asset in Ireland. The rest of
the rules are more or less the same for all applicants, irrespective of
background.
Closing
Thoughts:
If you have
drawn significant insights from this post and these have been helpful, come
back more often for Nursing
Home Support Scheme advice. You may even seek the advisory services from
Fair Deal Advice, a treasure trove of information on the Fair Deal Scheme in Ireland.
You can greatly benefit from their consultations in exchange for a nominal fee.