'We have waited long enough' - Offaly TD welcomes commitment on fair deal scheme

Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan has said that she welcomes commitments given to her by the Minister of State with Responsibility for Older People, Jim Daly, with respect to the introduction of reforms to the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Fair Deal Scheme).

Deputy Nolan went on to say however that the government was "already significantly behind the delivery of its commitments to reform the scheme as outlined in the programme for Government and that any further delay would be totally unacceptable."

“The failure to reform the Fair Deal Scheme is continuing to result in inaction that is having immediate, dramatic and totally avoidable consequences for farming families in particular," Nolan said.

"There is particular anxiety around the delay in implementing urgent reforms aimed at ensuring that the applicant’s principal private residence will only be included in the financial assessment for the first three years of their time in care. This is known as the three-year cap."

"What I am concerned about, however, is that while the Minister told me that he expects to bring the Heads of a reform Bill to Cabinet in May; he also says this is subject to legal advice."

"That is very far from the kind of solid commitments that farming families in Laois/Offaly need at this time of massive agri-sector uncertainty."

"In fact, it sounds very much like ‘government speak’ aimed at justifying further delay. That is something we must have absolute clarity on if the reforms are to have any impact at all."

"We have already waited long enough."

"Commitments to reform the huge inequalities in the Fair Deal Scheme for farmers have been repeated every year since 2016 and still nothing concrete has happened," Carol said.

"The Minister in his reply says that delays are down to the focus on Brexit."

"At best that is a partial and weak excuse given that work on the legal basis for the reforms should have started 3 years ago when commitments were provided in the Programme for Government."

"Otherwise, the government is simply saying that it promised all kind of things without doing any kind of legal analysis as to whether they could, in fact, be delivered. Some people would call that spin."

"If the government thinks it can string farmers and service users of the Nursing Home Support Scheme along for another three years then it is in for a rude awakening because rural Ireland, in particular, has endured enough inequality in treatment to last a lifetime,” concluded Deputy Nolan.