More than 200 people joined an IFA protest outside the Department of Health on Tuesday to highlight their frustration over delays in changes to the Fair Deal scheme.

Nine months ago, the Government promised to reduce nursing home charges for farming families by placing a three-year cap on the value of land taken into consideration under the scheme.

Nothing has happened since and farming families are footing the bill.

“In the time since Cabinet approved the proposal, it has cost individual farm families an estimated €40,000 in nursing home costs,” said IFA farm family and social affairs chair Caroline Farrell.

Offaly beef farmer Joe Carroll highlighted the effect on his family and farm.

“My wife Jane has Parkinson’s disease and is in a nursing home for long-term care. We have a 70ac farm but were caught on the wrong side of the means test, which means the house and farm are taken into account under the Fair Deal scheme,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Our payments are very high and the finances are running down the whole time. We don’t know where it is going to stop. It’s got to a stage where the stress of the situation has affected my own health.

“This year is crunch year for the future of the farm. I hate to think of it, but if the Government doesn’t implement this cap soon, I may have to sell part of the farm.”

Unacceptable

IFA president Joe Healy said the delay was “unacceptable” for people with loved ones in nursing homes, in addition to other stresses like Brexit, CAP reforms and cattle prices.

“This is something that can be sorted to give families a little peace of mind,” he said.