Government approves legislation to allow ‘Rent-a-Room’ income disregard from medical card and GP visit card assessment
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 23 January 2024
- Last updated on: 29 January 2024
- €14,000 rental income can be disregarded for qualification for medical cards and GP visit cards
- Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 will also enhance the role of pharmacists
- Medicines Substitution Protocols to be implemented to deal with medicine shortages
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has today received government approval to publish the final text of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024.
The Bill provides for a disregard of Rent-a-Room income of up to €14,000 per annum from the medical card assessment process.
Announcing the government decision to approve the legislation, Minister Donnelly said:
"I am pleased to receive government approval to publish this crucial Bill. This Bill, when enacted, will mean that Rent-a-Room income will no longer be considered during applications for medical cards and GP visit cards. The Bill will progress commitments under Housing for All, to remove potential barriers to participation in the Rent-a-Room scheme."
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris said:
"This income disregard is an important addition to the suite of measures the government has introduced for homeowners seeking to Rent-a-Room. This is a really important intervention to ensure there is no impact on the assessment for medical cards and GP cards.
"Rent-a-Room or digs accommodation supply is a key part of our long-term term approach to student accommodation and is a key part of the long-term policy announced last week. I want to thank Minister Donnelly and his officials for bringing these changes forward. It will be key to increasing the number of rooms available under this scheme."
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien said:
"know that there are homes which are well located close to public transport, third level institutes and urban centres but which are currently under-occupied. This extension of the income disregard will mean there are greater options for people, both those seeking to rent and those who wish to rent out a room but heretofore were disincentivised from doing so. This government is using every tool in our armoury to tackle the challenges in housing head-on."
Enhanced pharmacy
The legislation will also lay the ground for an enhanced role for pharmacists in Ireland, with further developments to follow via secondary legislation. The Bill intends to amend the 1995 Irish Medicines Board Act to enable pharmacists to sell and supply certain approved medicines without the need for a prescription, subject to appropriate regulation and controls to be set out in secondary legislation. This aligns with and supports the current practice of Pharmacists supplying and administering vaccinations, both privately and on behalf of the HSE. This amendment may also enable regulations to allow pharmacists to supply Oral Contraceptive Pills without prescription, to support the Free Contraception Scheme, subject to further clarification and consultation.
The Bill, when enacted, will also amend current legislation to enhance the Minister’s power to make regulations for management of and access to medicinal products. This will include provision for the enhanced management of shortages of medicinal products. The legislation will strengthen joint actions by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), the Health Service Executive (HSE), the PSI (the Pharmacy Regulator) and the Department of Health and will enable pharmacists to make therapeutic substitutions of products that are in shortage, in line with an approved clinical protocol.
Minister Donnelly added:
"We know that pharmacists can do more for patients and I have been clear that I want to further enhance the contribution that pharmacists make to our health services, and this will be an important step forward.
"The Bill will also prepare the way for some much-needed changes around the oversight of medicines supplies and access to medicines. Shortages of medicinal products has unfortunately become a reality across many countries in recent years. This Bill will allow us to be more agile in our response to these occurrences. Secondary legislation will be needed for these changes to take effect, and this is currently being developed in my department."
It is intended to progress the legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas in the coming months.
Notes
The Health Act 1970 (as amended) sets out a framework of eligibility for health services. The HSE Medical Card Assessment Guidelines outline certain incomes that are not included within the medical card assessment process, primarily social welfare payments and some compensation payments that can be disregarded. Rent-a-Room relief allows participants on the scheme to earn up to €14,000 per year, tax-free, if they rent out a room (or rooms) in their home for use as accommodation by others. Under current legislation and guidance, Rent-a-Room income would be counted during the assessment of a medical card application. This Bill inserts a specific exemption in the Health Act such that Rent-a-Room income (of up to €14,000 per annum) is not included within the medical card assessment process.
The Irish Medicines Board Act 1995 provides for the establishment of the Irish Medicines Board, now the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), and provides for the regulation of the manufacture, production, preparation, importation, advertisement, sale, and distribution of medicinal and cosmetic products. The amendments proposed will support the Department of Health’s policy position on expansion of the role of pharmacists in Ireland, enhance access to medicinal products and support the State vaccination programmes, building on measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also will provide a primary legislative basis for the introduction of various actions to manage shortages of medicinal products, including in relation to visibility of the medicines supply chain to Ireland. Measures enabled by the Bill will be subject to appropriate secondary legislation.
The Minister for Health intends to publish the final text of the Bill shortly and to progress the legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas as a priority in the coming months.