People residing in nursing homes as part of the Fair Deal scheme will not be seeing a hike in the contributions they have to make, it has been announced.

The Fair Deal scheme provides financial assistance to those in need of nursing home care. Under the scheme, a person will make a contribution towards the cost of their care and the State will pay the balance. Essentially, the State will pay the shortfall between what someone can afford to pay and the actual cost of nursing home care.

Residents are asked to contribute 80% of their income. Over 22,600 people in need of long-term care currently avail of this scheme.

A review of it has been published by the Department of Health and while this review included the ‘future financing' of Fair Deal, the department has announced that the Government ‘has decided to make no changes in this area'.

This means that current and future residents who avail of the scheme will not be facing higher contributions than are currently paid.

The department said that in its first five years of operation, Fair Deal ‘has been judged as successful'.

However, the review has identified a number of ‘administrative improvements' that could be made to the scheme, such as developing the use of information technology and web-based systems, improving procedures used in the validation of financial information and making application materials easier to understand.

The review states that the scheme has been ‘an effective contributor' to the long-term care needs of older people, however it notes that a range of other supports are required to enable older people to stay living at home for longer, such as expanded community services.

"With any completely new scheme it makes sense to take stock after an initial period of bedding in. This is what we have now done. The review shows an overwhelmingly positive picture of the scheme which meets a critical need in a very fair and transparent way," commented the Minister for Primary Care, Social Care and Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch.

However, she acknowledged the identification of ‘some things that require attention and adjustment'.

"This is to be expected and work will commence immediately on these areas, particularly those that can be addressed quickly on an administrative basis. Other issues, such as further emphasis on community care and the development of new models of residential care, will take longer but are also very important," Minister Lynch said.

The approved budget for Fair Deal in 2015 is €933 million, which will support 23,960 people in nursing home care by the end of the year. The number of people availing of the scheme by the end of 2024 is expected to reach over 33,000, due to Ireland's ageing population.

For more information on the scheme, including how to apply for it, click here