S.I. No. 642 of 2006 .

Nursing Homes (Subvention) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006

The Minister for Health and Children, Ms. Mary Harney T.D. in exercise of the powers conferred on her by Section 7(2) of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990 (No. 23 of 1990) (as adapted by the Health (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 (S.I. No. 308 of 1997 )), hereby makes the following Regulations:-

1.       These Regulations may be cited as the Nursing Homes (Subvention) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006.

2.       These Regulations shall come into operation on the first day of January, 2007.

3.       The definition of dependency in Article 3 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) is hereby amended by the deletion of the words -�level of-�.

4.       The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Article 7.1 of the Regulations of the following:-

-�7.1   The Health Service Executive in assessing the dependency of a person who has applied for a subvention or on whose behalf an application has been made, shall follow the procedures as set out in the First Schedule to these Regulations to determine whether a person is sufficiently dependent to require maintenance in a nursing home.-�

5.       The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Article 10.1 of the Regulations of the following:-

-�10.1 The maximum rate of subvention payable in respect of a person assessed as requiring maintenance in a nursing home is €300 per week.-�

6.       Article 10.2 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) is hereby revoked.

7.       The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Article 10.3 of the Regulations of the following:-

-�10.3 A person whose sole means as assessed by the Health Service Executive is a sum equivalent to or lower than the weekly rate payable at the time of the State Pension (Non-Contributory) shall qualify for the maximum amount of subvention per week set out in Article 10.1.-�

8.       Articles 10.4, 10.5 and 11.2 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the deletion of the words -�appropriate to that person's level of dependency-� wherever these words occur.

9.       Article 10.6 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) is hereby amended by the deletion of the words -�appropriate to his or her level of dependency-�.

10.     Article 10.8 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) is hereby amended by the deletion of the words -�in respect of any level of dependency-�.

11.     Paragraph 16 of the First Schedule of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) is hereby revoked.

12.     The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Paragraph 17 of the First Schedule of the Regulations of the following:-

-�17.   For the purpose of this schedule dependency describes a person whose independence is impaired to the extent that he or she requires nursing home care because the appropriate support and nursing care required by the person cannot be provided in the community.-�

13.     The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Paragraph 21 of the First Schedule of the Regulations of the following:-

-�21.   The report of the assessment by the designated officer or officers shall conclude whether the person is still dependent and continues to require nursing home care.-�

14.     The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Paragraph 23 of the First Schedule of the Regulations of the following:-

-�23.   If the designated officer, in his or her report of an assessment on review, concludes that the person is no longer dependent or recommends other courses of action specified in paragraph 22, the report shall be considered by the assessment team.-�

15.     The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Paragraph 13 of the Second Schedule to the Regulations of the following:-

-�13.  The Health Service Executive may impute an annual income equivalent to 5 per cent of the estimated market value of the principal residence of the person, if it was not occupied immediately prior to or at the time of the application by a spouse, a son or daughter aged less than twenty one years or in full-time education or a relative in receipt of Disability or similar Allowance, Blind Person's Pension, Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, State Pension (Contributory) in any case where, before 28^th September 2006, the relative would have been entitled to an Invalidity Pension, State Pension (Non-Contributory), or any successor to an allowance, pension or benefit referred to in this paragraph in any case where that allowance, pension or benefit, as the case may be, ceases to be provided, or any European Union equivalent to an allowance, pension, or benefit, or any successor thereto, referred to in this paragraph, for the first three years of the person's stay in nursing home care, from the date of admission.-�

16.     The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) are hereby amended by the substitution for Paragraph 22 of the Second Schedule to the Regulations of the following:-

-�22.  The Health Service Executive may refuse to pay a subvention to a person if his or her principal residence is valued at €500,000 or more (where the residence is located in the Dublin area) or €365,000 or more (where the residence is located outside the Dublin area) and is not occupied by a spouse, a son or daughter aged less than twenty one years or in full-time education or a relative in receipt of Disability or similar Allowance, Blind Person's Pension, Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, State Pension (Contributory) in any case where, before 28^th September 2006, the relative would have been entitled to Invalidity Pension, or State Pension (Non-Contributory) and the person's income is greater than €10,400 per annum.-�

17.     The Fourth Schedule of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) is hereby revoked.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations amend the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, (S.I. No. 227 of 1993 ) by increasing the rate of subvention payable from €114.30 per week in respect of medium dependency, €152.40 per week in respect of high dependency and €190.50 per week in respect of maximum dependency to a single maximum rate of €300 per week, thus deleting references to all dependency levels; by increasing the threshold of principal residence value above which subvention may be refused from €300,000 or more (where the residence is located outside the Dublin area) to €365,000 provided that the applicant's annual income is greater than €10,400 (this is increased from €9,000); and by inserting a limit of three years from the date of admission to a nursing home on the amount of time that the Health Service Executive may impute a 5% income of the value of the principal private residence of the applicant.