Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act for Fair Deal Nursing Home Support Scheme in 2023

 

On December 17 2022, President Higgins signed the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity)(Amendment) Act, 2022. Even though the bill is successfully passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas, it doesn’t yet have a start date, just like the previous Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act, 2015.

While the Courts Service and Decision Support Service (DSS) and other committees come up with a date to put the Act into effect, Section 102 of the 2022 Act modifies Section 21 of the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act, 2009. This means that no new applications under the previous processes will be considered on or after the new law takes effect for Care Representative applications.

 

If you are looking to apply for the Fair Deal Scheme on behalf of a loved one in 2023, then this blog is to give you a clear idea of representing someone to get the funding that really works.

 

Applying For The Fair Deal - Nursing Home Support Scheme on Behalf Of A Person

Applicants must sign the Fair Deal Application Form in order to apply for State Support. The restrictions are loosened for people with reduced decision-making abilities. In such circumstances, the candidate's "Specified Person" can apply for State Support on their behalf.

Under the Fair Deal Scheme, it is not always easy to choose a specific person. While the HSE acknowledges that family members, friends, or even social workers may want to help a relative or friend obtain state support, it is essential that the specified person identify themselves by including their contact information and other whereabouts in the form. Only a small number of people meet the requirements to act as a specific person and represent the person in need of care that includes the following:

       ➔    A Care Representative with all the qualifications specified under the Nursing Home Support                    Scheme 2009

 

➔    A Specified Person or Committee appointed under the Office of Ward of Courts

 

➔    The attorney or holder who is appointed the Enduring Power of Attorney, permitting them to take medical and financial decisions on behalf of the donor.

 

➔    A “Next Friend” appointed by the Circuit Court

 

➔    A spouse: wife, husband, partner or same-sex spouse cohabiting for a minimum of 3 years as life partners.

 

➔    An Irish-registered medical practitioner: doctor, caregiver or medical social worker

 

Individuals who obtain any legal documents like the Power of Attorney or are appointed by the court, have a better advantage of “high priority” than those of family members, or medical social workers, who are given comparatively “low priority”.

 

In many cases, the Care Representative or a Ward of Courts might have to present written consent to accredit the eligibility of a person to be a “low-priority specified person” to represent the individual seeking Nursing Home Support. 

 

 

Individuals may submit the application even while waiting to get appointed as a specified person, but sooner or later they would have to share evidence of their appointment and legal authority.

 

Role of the Care Representative For Availing The Nursing Home Loan Scheme

When choosing the Nursing Home Loan Scheme, applicants must designate a "relevant accountable person" who will be in charge of paying back the nursing home loan to the Revenue Commissioners after the applicant's death. A Care Representative may be designated by a person with diminished mental ability to act on their behalf and designate themselves as the responsible party.

 

Legally, the care representative of a deceased person must notify the HSE as soon as is reasonably possible, but no later than three months before any distribution of the assets from the individual's estate. To fulfill the requirement, the following factors are required:

 

1)     a list of the assets that are included in the deceased person's estate

2)     a written statement outlining the representatives' plan to allocate the assets.

 

A Care Representative will be held personally accountable for any sum owed to the HSE if they fail to keep enough estate assets to cover it.

New Norms for Assisted Decision-Making Bill

 

The Irish Government has passed the Assisted Decision-Making Bill, and it is anticipated that it will become law early in 2023. New standards for the appointment of specified persons are expected as well. Particularly, the appointment of court-appointed wards and/or care representatives may no longer take place. But it's not yet clear what the adjustment will entail.

Applicants are free to consult legal advice or the guidance of a Fair Deal advisor to make the right decisions and conduct all the procedures of appointing a specified person more diligently.