PART 2

Amendment to Health Act 1970

2 .— In this Part, “Act of 1970” means the Health Act 1970 .

3 .— (1) Subsection (5A) of section 45 (inserted by section 1 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 ) of the Act of 1970 is replaced by the following—

“(5A) Notwithstanding any other enactment, with effect from 2 March 2009 a person also shall have full eligibility for the services under this Part if the person attained the age of 70 years before 1 January 2009 and is ordinarily resident in the State, so long as the person’s gross income does not exceed the relevant gross income limit under section 45A.”.

(2) A person who had full eligibility for the services under Part IV of the Act of 1970 by virtue of section 45(5A) of that Act prior to the coming into operation of subsection (1) continues to have full eligibility until 2 March 2009.

4 .— The Act of 1970 is amended by inserting the following after section 45:

“Full eligibility.

45A.— (1) Notwithstanding section 45(6), a person in one of the following categories and who is ordinarily resident in the State also shall have full eligibility for the services under this Part:

(a) persons who, on or after 1 January 2009, attain or have attained the age of 70 years, whose gross income does not exceed the relevant income limit and who—

(i) make an application to the Health Service Executive in such form as it may consider appropriate, and

(ii) receive confirmation from the Health Service Executive that they have full eligibility for services under this Part because they have attained the age of 70 years, are ordinarily resident in the State and their gross income does not exceed the relevant gross income limit, so long as their gross income does not exceed that relevant limit;

(b) persons who were married to another person until that other person’s death, or lived with that other person as husband and wife until the other person’s death—

(i) if the surviving persons have attained the age of 70 years at the time of the death,

(ii) if the death occurred on or after 1 January 2009, and

(iii) for a period of 3 years after the death, so long as their gross income does not exceed the gross income limit set out in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) during that period;

and

(c) dependants of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) or section 45(5A).

(2) The Health Service Executive shall provide any necessary supports to any person in the making of an application under subsection (1) where, by reason of any incapacity, such person requests such assistance.

(3) The gross income limits for the purposes of this section and section 45(5A) are the following:

(a) if a person is not married and is not living together with another person as husband and wife, his or her gross income limit is €700 per week, not including the income from the portion of the person’s savings or similar investments whose capital value does not exceed €36,000, and

(b) if persons are married or live together as husband and wife, their combined gross income limit is €1,400 per week, not including the income from the portion of their savings or similar investments whose capital value does not exceed €72,000.

(4) The Minister shall, on 1 September of every year, review the most recent information on the consumer price index made available by the Central Statistics Office, and may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by regulations to take effect on 1 January next following that review, increase the gross income limits specified for the purposes of this section and section 45(5A) to reflect any increase in that index.

(5) For the purposes of calculating gross income for this section and section 45(5A), all gross income from all sources is to be included except for the gross income arising from the following sources of income, and any subsequent income from the investment of the monies arising from those sources, which are not to be included:

(a) compensation awards to persons under the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Acts 1997 to 2006;

(b) compensation awards by way of the Residential Institutions Redress Board established under section 3 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 ;

(c) prescribed repayments made under section 8 of the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 made—

(i) to a living relevant person,

(ii) to the spouse or former spouse of a living or deceased relevant person,

(iii) directly to a living child of a relevant person by virtue of section 9(8) of that Act;

(d) ex-gratia awards approved by the Lourdes Hospital Redress Board under the terms of the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme 2007;

(e) similar awards and payments set out in regulations made under subsection (7).

(6) In the calculation of gross income for the purposes of this section and section 45(5A), income will not be imputed from property (whether a family home, a holiday home or any other property), unless it is rented, and only the net rental income will be included as income, calculated as gross income, less any cost necessarily incurred associated with the rental of the property.

(7) The Minister may make regulations prescribing a class or classes of payments not coming within paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (5) but which the Minister considers to be made for a similar purpose as those made under those paragraphs.”.

5 .— Section 47 of the Act of 1970 is amended by inserting “, 45A” after “45”.

6 .— Section 47A of the Act of 1970 is amended by inserting “, 45A” after “45”.

7 .— Section 49 of the Act of 1970 is amended—

(a) by inserting the following subsection:

“(1A) A person who has attained the age of 70 years before 1 January 2009 and who has received confirmation before that date from the Health Service Executive, or has communicated in writing before that date with the Health Service Executive with a view to receiving confirmation from it, that he or she has full eligibility for the services under this Part shall, no later than 2 March 2009—

(a) review his or her gross income from all sources, other than the sources referred to in section 45A(5), and

(b) notify the Health Service Executive if he or she has concluded that that income exceeds the relevant gross income limit set out in section 45A, unless the person has received confirmation from the Health Service Executive that he or she has full eligibility for the services under this Part otherwise than under section 45(5A).”,

(b) in subsection (2), by inserting “or (1A)” after “subsection (1)”.