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.

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“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.