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CareMapIreland

Situation

When your family is considering a nursing home

How the care needs assessment and Fair Deal financial assessment work in Ireland, and what to ask before deciding.

Last reviewed: not yet reviewedNeeds review

This decision is rarely made calmly, and it is often made in a hospital corridor. Understanding the two assessments involved — care needs and financial — makes it more manageable.

We do not sell or rank nursing home placements. Inspection reports for individual homes are published by the independent regulator.

First steps

  1. Ask the local HSE office how to start the care needs assessment
  2. Read the current official guidance on the financial assessment before signing anything
  3. Get independent legal or financial advice where a home, farm or business is involved
  4. Ask whether more support at home has genuinely been exhausted first

Support that often applies here

Relevant does not mean approved. Each of these has its own assessment or decision process, run by the HSE, a local authority or the Department of Social Protection.

Guides that help you prepare

Where the facts on this page come from

How the system works is taken from the official pages below. Everything else here is practical experience of dealing with that system, not official guidance — and none of it is clinical or legal advice.