Fair Deal Guide

Step 1.1 is an application for a Care Needs Assessment.

Step 1.2 is an application for State Support. This will be used to complete the Financial Assessment which determines your contribution to care and your corresponding level of financial assistance (“State support”). This step is an optional step which should be completed if you wish to apply for the Nursing Home Loan (“Ancillary State support”). It is important to take care when completing the form. You must provide accurate information about your financial affairs and ensure that all the documents listed in the checklist have been attached. The application form must be signed by the applicant and sent to the HSE. Where the applicant is unable to sign the form him/herself due to reduced capacity to make decisions (i.e. diminished mental capacity), a specified person may sign on his/her behalf. 

The Financial Assessment looks at your income and assets to work out what your contribution to care will be. All the relevant information will have been supplied on the initial application form.

You will contribute up to 80% of your income and 7.5% of the value of any assets (including your home) per annum towards the costs of care. Your home will be removed from your financial assessment after three years in care, this is known as the “3 year cap”.  You do not need to do anything. 

If you sell your home while you are in care, the net proceeds of sale will also qualify for the 3-year cap. You need to contact your local nursing homes support scheme office if you sell your home, so they can reassess your contribution. The HSE will then pay the balance of your cost of care. For example, if the cost of your care is €1,000 per week and your weekly contribution is €300, the HSE will pay the weekly balance of €700. This payment by the HSE is called State support.

Where your assets include land and property, the contribution based on such assets may be deferred. This means that you do not have to find the money to pay this contribution during your lifetime. Instead, if approved, the HSE will pay the money on your behalf, and it will be collected by the Revenue Commissioners after your death. This is an optional benefit of the scheme called the “Nursing Home Loan”. The nursing home loan is optional. If you want to apply for it, you should complete this section in the Fair Deal application form.

 To apply for the Nursing Home Loan, you must provide written consent to having a simple type of mortgage, “*a Charging Order”, registered against your asset. The HSE will make and register the Charging Order. You will not need to do anything (although the HSE may need to check with you about the information in your application). If a person does not have the capacity to consent to the application for the Nursing Home Loan/the creation of a *Charging Order, a Care Representative will need to be appointed to act on their behalf.

You can choose to pay the loan back at any time. You do not have to pay the amount during your lifetime, but it will be collected from your estate upon death. If your partner is still living in your home after your death, they can apply for a deferral. This means the loan amount based on the home can be collected from their estate after their death.

The HSE will provide you with a list of nursing homes. This list will include public, voluntary, and approved private nursing homes. You can choose care in any nursing home on the list, subject to the following conditions: - The home must be able to cater for your needs, and the home must have a place for you.

Once you have chosen your nursing home, you will pay your contribution to the nursing home and the HSE will pay the balance of the cost of care.

Please note this is only intended as a brief guide to the Fair Deal Scheme. Full details can be found at https://www2.hse.ie/services/fair-deal-scheme/about-the-fair-deal-scheme.html