The government has announced an overhaul of the Fair Deal scheme to benefit small farmers and business owners who need to access nursing home care.
The current system requires farm families and small firm owners to pay 7.5 per cent of the value of their land annually to help to fund a place in a nursing home.
The changes to the system will see this payment capped at 3 years.
However, to qualify for the scheme, a family successor will have to continue to operate the farm or business for 6 years.
A meeting to progress proposals for the introduction of a ‘Sustainability Development Programme’, has been called for as part of a lobby group’s submission on the early mid-term review of the nitrates derogation.
The meeting with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has been requested by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The IFA’s environment chairman Thomas Cooney said: “Farmers have made a substantial investment in improving farmyards and ensuring better nutrient management.
