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Guides

Nursing Homes Suppor

In order to apply for the scheme you must be ordinarily resident in the State. Ordinarily resident means that you have been living in the State for at least a year or that you intend to live here for at least a year. Applications are made to your local Nursing Home Support Office on the standard application form. There are three steps to the application process.

Step 1 is an application for a Care Needs Assessment. The Care Needs Assessment identifies whether or not you need long-term nursing home care.

Step 2 is an application for State Support. This will be used to complete the Financial Assessment which determines your contribution to your care and your corresponding level of financial assistance ("State Support"). Steps 1 and 2 must be completed by all applicants (if you are resident in a nursing home before the scheme starts please see section 10 for further information).

Step 3 is an optional step which should be completed if you wish to apply for the Nursing Home Loan (this is termed "Ancillary State Support" in the legislation). The loan is explained in section 5 of the information.

The application form should be completed and signed by the person applying for nursing home care. However, in certain cases, another person may apply on their behalf.

The financial aspect of the scheme has two elements where the entrant will contribute 80% of their assessable income and 5% of the value of any assets per annum for the first three years (or 15% in total).

If your assets include land and property, the 5% contribution based on such assets can be deferred. This means it does not have to be paid during your lifetime and will be collected from your estate.

Applicants will require a current open market valuation of any and all assets.

For further information on HSE Nursing Homes Support Scheme, a Fair Deal with Vincent Finnegan in South Dublin.