Older people with an income of more than €9,000 a year or savings worth more than €36,000 may be refused subvention for private nursing homes under new rules due to come into force shortly. Carl O'Brien, Social Affairs Correspondent, reports
The legislation, due to be enacted in the Dáil shortly, will also allow the Health Service Executive (HSE) to refuse subvention for an older person living alone in a house worth more than €500,000 in Dublin and €300,000 outside the capital.
The Health (Nursing Homes Amendment) Bill, 2006, will put in place a national system of eligibility for subvention in private nursing homes for the first time. At present the interpretation of subvention rules vary widely in different parts of the country.
Fine Gael and support groups for older people yesterday said the new legislation could see nursing home residents forced to sell their homes to fund their care.
A spokesman for Minister for Health Mary Harney, however, rejected the claims and said the new legislation placed existing regulations dating back to 1993 on to a statutory footing. He said that under no circumstances would older people be forced into selling their homes.
The issue of how to create a sustainable approach to financing long-term care for older people is certain to become a major issue in the coming years, with the number of people aged over 65 set to double between now and 2036.
The issue has been the subject of discussion within Government and a new detailed policy on how much older people should be expected to pay for their care is due to be announced in the coming months.
An unpublished report being examined by the Government suggests the State could ask people to contribute up to 80 per cent towards the cost of care.
However, Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey said that instead of publishing the report, the Government was "introducing legislation that will severely limit elderly patients' entitlement to subvention".
Age Action Ireland, a support group for older people, also expressed concern that older people could be forced into selling their homes or feel pressurised into availing of equity release schemes if new rules for subvention are strictly enforced.
A spokesman for Ms Harney, however, insisted the new eligibility rules were fairer than the old 1993 regulations by making access to subvention more transparent and improving income thresholds.
The rules relating to the value of an applicant's property, for example, had been improved dramatically, he added.
He said the outcome of the Government's discussions on how to create a sustainable strategy for funding long-term care for older people would be published shortly.