Health Card/Perscription Scheme/Purchasing 1st Home

[Figtree1953]

Hello,
I am writing on behalf of a friend who has repatriated to Ireland and is receiving social benefits due to limited income.
She will be 70 this September, is renting and living in an apartment. She has never owned property in Ireland before.

My question: If her daughter gave her a gift of approximately 100,000 euro and my friend purchased a home (a primary residence for herself), would this "temporary" extra income put her above the "means limit" and would she lose the benefits she is, currently, eligible for?
A mortgage would not be involved. After she purchased her home, her income level would revert to what it is presently, ostensibly, making her eligible for the benefits again.

Would she be entitled to purchase her first home and still be able to receive her benefits?

Forgive me, but my understanding of the Irish benefits system is very limited. I hope I have properly conveyed the gist of her question.

My friend has asked me to pose the question as she feels she could not properly express herself at her local Health Center.

Thank you so very much for your time and assistance,

 

[dereko1969]

I'm not sure of the exact implications but would it not make more sense for the daughter to buy the house and allow the mother to live there rent free for the rest of her days?

That way any gift tax liabilities are done away with, there is no impact on the mother's means and the daughter has an asset that she can do with as she wishes once the mother has died.

Where is the daughter based?

 

[Figtree1953]

Thanks for your quick response.
Her dtr is currently based in London but will be retuning to the States permanently in a few months. She is tangled in her own real estate headaches and feels it would just be easier for her to give the money to her mom. Besides, it is my understanding that if my friend purchases her "first" home...there is no VAT.
We did not consider the "gift" tax...can you elaborate on that?

If the dtr sent this money to her mom, I can't imagine that it would be sitting in my friend's account for more than a week...until the home purchase was concluded.

I did email HSE and they responded with the pat answers of allowable weekly income (600euro) and allowable savings (36000euro) for a single person.
Even with this gift...her "income" will not have changed once the house was purchased. Seems silly to knock someone off her benefits for such a short period of time.
Any additional thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.