Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny warned that some elderly people could lose their homes under legislation governing nursing home subventions.
"The Taoiseach is only too well aware of the value in our Constitution of the family. And the family home is part of that social bond," he said.
Mr Kenny said that there was concern about a provision in the Nursing Home (Amendment) Bill requiring the HSE to take 5 per cent of the value of an applicant's house into consideration when applying for a nursing home subvention.
The Fine Gael leader added that the the current average price of a modest house was about €300,000, compared to about €76,000 10 years ago.
The rule, therefore, allowed the HSE to calculate what it considered to be a notional income of 5 per cent of the market value of the house.
"That means that somebody looking for a nursing home subvention, and living in an average house, would have a notional income assessed at over €15,000," he added.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted that the Bill contained no change in the practice operating for some years, but there were advance discussions on a new policy for long-term care.
Mr Kenny said that the notional income, together with the old age pension, would see them fail to qualify for a subvention and be forced to sell the home.
"You cannot buy anything with a notional income, you cannot buy groceries in Tesco or Dunnes or anywhere else, but the HSE can use that notional income as a method of depriving a person of a subvention in a nursing home," he added.
He said that the rule was being put into primary legislation for the first time and was a cause of concern to elderly people, many of whom were frail and vulnerable.
Age Action Ireland had warned that the application of the rule would effectively force many elderly people to dispose of the family home.
Mr Ahern said there were exceptions to the provision where the house was occupied by a spouse, or a child under two, or a person receiving certain social welfare payments.
The Bill, he said, was designed simply to put the current subvention scheme on a sound legal footing.
"It proposes no changes to the financial assessment that is there," he added.
Mr Ahern said the Bill provided that the HSE could use its discretion to refuse to pay a subvention if the value of the applicant's assets exceeded a certain threshold or the principal residence exceeded certain amounts in value.
The Taoiseach insisted that there was no change from the current practice.
Mr Kenny said he believed that the Taoiseach did not want a situation to arise where his Government and himself were being accused of forcing people to sell the family home.
He asked if the HSE could approve a subvention even in a case where the notional income was in excess of the 5 per cent limit.
Mr Ahern said the HSE had discretion on the matter either way.
