The minister with responsibility for older people, Kathleen Lynch, has said today that nursing home residents under the Fair Deal Scheme will not have to pay an increased contribution towards their care.

Age Action has welcomed the decision, saying it will be a relief for many families. Justin Moran, of Age Action, said: “We welcome this morning’s announcement that there will be no increase in the contribution required from nursing home residents.

There are a number of other positive recommendations in the report, including increased transparency in the additional charges faced by many residents and an emphasis on community care.

Justin Moran continued: “The emphasis on increasing provision of community care is welcome but there is a lack of detail about how this will be done.

“More home care and community supports would enable many of these people to stay at home longer. That’s a better outcome for the older people themselves and it would help to reduce the cost of the Nursing Home Support Scheme”

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0720/715953-Fair-Deal-nursing-home/