The Attorney General providing "a measure of legal certainty" to the Fair Deal reforms "that are so badly needed and so long overdue" has been welcomed.

Minister of State Mary Butler has written to deputy Carol Nolan with an update on the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act, also known as the Fair Deal scheme.

"Substantial preparatory work on the bill took place during the last Dáil," Minister Butler told deputy Nolan.

"However, this work was interrupted by the dissolution of the Dáil and by the significant challenges to the wider healthcare system created by the Covid-19 pandemic, which required the full attention of the Department of Health.

"However, the Programme for Government commits to introducing an amendment to the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act, and my officials have been working intensively with drafts people in the Office of the Attorney General on the drafting of this legislation."

The minister confirmed that a finalised draft of the bill has now been signed by the Attorney General.

"Several steps must be completed before the bill is laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas," the minister added.

"Following cabinet procedure, the bill must be formally circulated to other government departments to allow for their formal observations before the Minister for Health will bring a memorandum to cabinet seeking permission to publish the bill.

"The government appreciates that this could place a potentially onerous burden on family successors and could challenge the future viability of these productive assets. The proposed amendment seeks to address this issue."

Laois-Offaly deputy Carol Nolan said that the government must now ensure that the legislation is "escalated through the Oireachtas process as a matter of urgency".

"As always, I will be pursuing this matter until farm families, and all of those impacted by the absence of reforms, finally have the kind of security and certainty that they need on this issue," the deputy added.

The government has previously said that the objective is to have the new Fair Deal "in place and operational by summertime”.