The scheme in one paragraph
The Nursing Homes Support Scheme ("Fair Deal") part-funds long-term residential care: the person contributes from income and assets under the scheme's formula, the State funds the balance. Where the contribution against the home would force a sale, the nursing home loan defers it — collected later, typically from the estate. Applying, consenting to assessment, and above all taking the loan are legal acts. Someone must have authority to do them.
Where capacity meets the scheme
- Applying and consenting — a person who cannot apply needs someone with authority: under the scheme's own machinery, a care representative appointed by the Circuit Court specifically for Fair Deal purposes — or, in the Act's world, an appointee whose powers cover it (an attorney under an activated EPA, or a DMR with the relevant decisions)
- The loan — charging the person's home requires clear authority; this is where families discover an order or instrument scoped without the loan in mind, mid-deadline
- Selling instead — sometimes the plan is to sell the house rather than borrow against it; the authority route and the scheme arithmetic should be decided together, not in sequence
- The farm and business reliefs — the scheme's treatment of farms and businesses has its own rules and its own planning; for the family farm, that whole territory belongs to our dedicated practice at farmsolicitor.ie
Sequencing is everything
The classic mess: nursing home secured, Fair Deal application started, and only then the discovery that nobody holds authority — cue months of court process while fees accrue at private rates. The clean sequence: capacity route scoped first (existing EPA? co-decision possible? DMR needed — with which powers?), Fair Deal and property decisions made inside that structure, and the application filed with its legal underpinnings already in place. If the admission has already happened — it usually has — we run the authority application and the scheme process in parallel and triage the interim.
How our fees work
You get a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly-rate surprises. If the scope changes, the quote is revised in writing before we continue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. How costs work in capacity matters →
Frequently asked questions
What is a care representative under Fair Deal?
A person appointed by the Circuit Court under the scheme's own legislation specifically to act in Fair Deal matters — principally where the nursing home loan is sought for someone who cannot consent. Which route fits — care representative, or powers within a wider Act arrangement — depends on what else the person needs; we advise on the whole picture, not one form.
Can we do Fair Deal while a DMR application is pending?
The processes can run in parallel, and sensible sequencing keeps care funded while authority catches up. What to avoid is signing scheme documents without authority 'to keep things moving' — it creates defects that surface later, usually around the loan or the estate.
Does the house have to be sold for Fair Deal?
No — the scheme assesses the home under its rules (with the loan available to defer the contribution), and whether selling, renting or holding is right is a family-by-family calculation with capacity authority as its precondition. Decide the arithmetic and the authority together.
Talk to a solicitor who works with families through capacity law every week. Call Mary Molloy Solicitors today.
Whether you are planning ahead, facing a capacity application, or simply unsure which arrangement your family needs, an early conversation costs little and prevents a lot.
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richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · Dublin: The Ormond Building, 31–36 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, D07 EE37 · Kilkenny: 2 Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny, R95 W58D
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