Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People Jim Daly (left) at the National Ploughing Championships. \ Philip Doyle
ADVERTISEMENT
The Government has approved a three-year limit to the charges applied to the value of farmland under the Fair Deal Scheme.
Under current legislation, farmers entering a nursing home must pay 7.5% of their farm’s value every year as long as they stay in full-time care. The change means there will be a cap of 22.5% of the value of productive business assets including farms. Charges already paid will count towards the three years.
“This move will remove a great deal of stress and worry from the affected families” and “allow them to continue to run the family business without the fear of losing it,” said Minister of State for Older People Jim Daly.
IFA farm family representative Maura Canning, who has campaigned extensively on this issue, described the change as “phenomenal”. She accepted restrictions, such as the ineligibility of leased land.
“If you’re leasing out the land and leaving a person in a nursing home, that’s fair enough,” she said. “We’re really trying to bring young people back into farming.” The proposal also requires that a family successor continues to farm for six years, pointing to conditions close to those of the stamp duty consanguinity relief available to direct relatives, their children and spouses who are qualified farmers.
The Oireachtas must now pass the reform, with hopes that this will happen in time for funding to be included in budget 2019.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
The Government has approved a three-year limit to the charges applied to the value of farmland under the Fair Deal Scheme.
Under current legislation, farmers entering a nursing home must pay 7.5% of their farm’s value every year as long as they stay in full-time care. The change means there will be a cap of 22.5% of the value of productive business assets including farms. Charges already paid will count towards the three years.
“This move will remove a great deal of stress and worry from the affected families” and “allow them to continue to run the family business without the fear of losing it,” said Minister of State for Older People Jim Daly.
IFA farm family representative Maura Canning, who has campaigned extensively on this issue, described the change as “phenomenal”. She accepted restrictions, such as the ineligibility of leased land.
“If you’re leasing out the land and leaving a person in a nursing home, that’s fair enough,” she said. “We’re really trying to bring young people back into farming.” The proposal also requires that a family successor continues to farm for six years, pointing to conditions close to those of the stamp duty consanguinity relief available to direct relatives, their children and spouses who are qualified farmers.
The Oireachtas must now pass the reform, with hopes that this will happen in time for funding to be included in budget 2019.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS