Farmers are seeking an urgent reform of the Fair Deal scheme.

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has told Agriland it is seeking a meeting with the Government to discuss the Fair Deal and ask for immediate changes to the scheme that it says are necessary to prevent people losing their farms.

Under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, also referred to as Fair Deal, financial support is offered to people in long-term nursing home care.

Nursing home residents pay part of the nursing home fees according to their means, and the HSE pays the balance.

The IFA is seeking a number of changes to the Fair Deal.

The association has proposed to reduce the five-year land/business transfer clause to three years in line with the 'three-year cap', to allow more farmers to benefit from the Fair Deal.

The IFA has proposed that land leased under Fair Deal should be classed as 'actively farmed' for the purposes of meeting succession criteria.

The IFA is also seeking an increase in the ancillary state support loan payback to a minimum of five years to allow sufficient time to repay the costs.

The current cash asset disregard for a single person is €36,000 and €72,000 for a couple; IFA is asking for these to be increased to €44,000 and €88,000 respectively.

The IFA has said that the assessment period for the family home under Fair Deal should be reduced from three years to two, with a maximum contribution of 15% of the home's value, instead of the current cap of 22.5%.

The IFA has also proposed that income from leased farmland should be excluded or at least partially disregarded in the Fair Deal financial assessment.

IFA farm family and social affairs committee chairperson Teresa Roche told Agriland that the association is putting emphasis on "how unfair" the Fair Deal is for family farms, and that people "with assets are being penalised."

Under current rules, families may apply for a cap that limits the contribution of farm or business assets to nursing home costs to three years, but only if strict conditions are met.

The three-year cap was introduced in 2021 for qualifying family farms and businesses, limiting the asset-based contribution to the total of 22.5% (7.5% a year, for three years).

After three years, the value of family-owned farms and businesses is not considered when calculating the cost of a person’s nursing home care.

Roche said that the Fair Deal criteria needs to be urgently changed, in order to protect family farms.

It is understood that thousands of individuals who have land under long-term lease arrangements are likely to be excluded from the three-year cap.

Roche said this is putting farms with leased land "in huge jeopardy".

She said there is a threat to food production in Ireland as a result of people being "forced to sell" farms to cover the costs of nursing home care.

Roche said the IFA is seeking a full review of the Fair Deal, which the association believes is overdue.

"We're waiting for a meeting with the government to discuss this," she added.

The Department of Health told Agriland that discussions in relation to its annual budget are underway, and any changes to the Fair Deal "would need to be considered as part of the annual estimates process which is ongoing at the moment".

"The department has regular engagement with key nursing home stakeholders from the sector regarding the Nursing Homes Support Scheme," it added.

Cork TD Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon recently to provide an update on his department’s engagement with the Department for Health in relation to examining the Fair Deal to ensure it does not impede succession planning and recognises the distinctive position of agricultural land.

The minister said that farm succession is a "complex issue and there are many factors that impact farmers’ decisions".

"Last October, an independent Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming was established. The commission is taking an objective, evidence-based approach examining the range of factors involved that contribute to the age demographic in the sector," the minister replied.

"I am expecting the commission to report to me on policy options shortly."