The government has been defeated in a vote on reform of the Fair Deal scheme.
The vote was on a motion put forward by the Rural Independent Group which includes Tipperary’s Mattie McGrath. The purpose of the motion is to give farming families and the self-employed equal footing when it comes to how the government charges for nursing home care through the Fair Deal scheme.
The motion was carried even though it was opposed by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail abstained.
Commenting afterwards, farming group the ICSA noted that the system as it is could lead to the sale of a family’s farm to pay for their nursing home fees.
The organisation has welcomed the success of today’s motion, adding that the Fair Deal scheme ‘needs to be fair for everyone’.
