I am pleased to introduce this Bill to the Seanad. Since I was appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people last July, updating the fair deal legislation to enhance protections for family farms and business owners has been a priority for me. I thank Senators for the opportunity to present the provisions of the Bill in the House today. The nursing homes support scheme, also known as the fair deal scheme, is a system of financial support for those requiring long-term nursing h…

I thank all the Senators for their valuable and personal contributions. The Bill is technical and complex in nature, so I appreciate the support of Senators in facilitating its swift passage through Seanad Éireann. I thank the Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the House and all the officials, given that there was much toing and froing in the past fortnight to see whether we could find time for the Bill. We have debated Second Stage today and will debate Committee and Remaining St…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, line 24, to delete “or 14H” and substitute “, 14H, 14K or 14L”. I flagged on Committee Stage that I would be tabling several amendments on Report Stage to provide in respect of the second partner in a couple. These second partner provisions are largely dealt with in the amendments I am presenting now. However, providing for couples in this legislation has presented many complex questions which must be carefully considered before it is finally put into operation. For this reason, a…

I thank everyone for their contributions, some of which I thought were unfair. We are losing sight of what I am trying to achieve. The Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act was introduced in 2009. It was quickly acknowledged that there was an anomaly as to how farm families and small businesses were being treated. The three-year cap applied to everybody else with a principal private residence but somebody who had a farm or small business did not get the same treatment. We must be clear that I am trying to fix that anoma…

I will address the last question first. Once the Bill has been enacted, from the day a person appoints his or her successor, any time spent in the nursing home previous to that will be accounted for. If, therefore, a person has been in a nursing for two and a half years and he or she appoints a successor today, the three-year cap will be reached after six months. Time spent in the nursing home is taken into account. Regarding the questions asked by Deputies Naughten and Danny Healy-Rae, the same circumstances apply…

I do not believe it is a discrepancy. This is a new amendment to the Bill and there are no successors in this legislation until it has been enacted. The Bill will go through the Seanad tomorrow and Friday and will be enacted within 90 days. I took on board the amendment. This means that a successor can only be appointed after the Bill has been enacted. Someone who has been a successor for the past five, six or 11 years is, therefore, not a successor, as defined in this legislation.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, to delete lines 6 and 7 and substitute the following: "(g) that, where the relevant person is a member of a couple— (i) except for any application under this section in relation to which a repayment event has occurred or in such other circumstances as may be prescribed, the relevant person’s partner has not made an application under this section, and (ii) the relevant person’s partner consents to the making of the application by the relevant person.".

I move amendment No. 3: In page 9, lines 38 and 39, to delete ", (b), (c) and (d)" and substitute "to (f)".

I move amendment No. 4: In page 14, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: "(d) that, where a family successor was appointed under section 14K, the family successor has complied with the undertaking given by him or her under subsection (3)(e) of that section since the appointment, (e) that, where a family successor was appointed under section 14L, the family successor has complied with the undertaking given by him or her under subsection (3)(f) of that section since the appointment,".

I move amendment No. 5: In page 14, line 33, to delete "(d) that" and substitute "(f) that".

I move amendment No. 6: In page 14, line 36, to delete "(e) that" and substitute "(g) that".

I move amendment No. 7: In page 14, lines 36 and 37, to delete "or 14H(5)(d)" and substitute ", 14H(5)(d), 14K(3)(f) or 14L(3)(g)".

I move amendment No. 8: In page 18, line 2, to delete "or".

I move amendment No. 9: In page 18, line 4, to delete "section."." and substitute the following: "section, (e) where the relevant person’s family successor was appointed under section 14K, the first period referred to in subsection (3)(e) of that section, or (f) where the relevant person’s family successor was appointed under section 14L, the first period referred to in subsection (3)(f) of that section.".".

I move amendment No. 10: In page 21, line 1, to delete "subsection (2)(d)" and substitute "subsection (2)(c)".

I move amendment No. 11: In page 33, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "Application by partner for appointment of family successor 13. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 14J (inserted by section 12 ): " 14K. (1) This section applies where— (a) a family successor has been appointed in respect of a person (in this section referred to as the ‘relevant person’) in relation to a particular family asset, (b) the period to which the undertaking given by tha…

I move amendment No. 12: In page 33, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "Application by partner of deceased person for appointment of family successor 14. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 14K (inserted by section 13 ): “ 14L. (1)This section applies where— (a) a family successor has been appointed in respect of a person (in this section referred to as the ‘relevant person’) in relation to a particular family asset, (b) the relevant person dies, (c) …

I move amendment No. 13: In page 33, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "Determination as to farm or business relief where family successor fulfils undertaking 15. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 14L (inserted by section 14 ): " 14M. (1) This section applies where— (a) a determination has been made under section 14C(2)(a) in respect of a person (in this section referred to as the ‘relevant person’) in relation to a particular family asset, (b) the …

I move amendment No. 14: In page 33, lines 27 and 28, to delete all words from and including "section" where it secondly occurs in line 27 down to and including line 28 and substitute "section 14M (inserted by section 15 ):".

I move amendment No. 15: In page 33, line 29, to delete " 14K. Any person" and substitute " 14N. Any person".