Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. It is good to engage with them again. I will stay with the private nursing homes. I understand the HSE is tasked with the management of the health repayments scheme. It was referred to in the Comptroller and Auditor General's reports at various times. The most recent accounts were signed off by the then CEO, as Accounting Officer, Mr. Paul Reid on 26 November 2021. I understand 35,417 applications were made to the repayments scheme and 20,302 claimants received a payment. As of 31 December 2021, €453 million had been paid to claimants and €32.5 million paid in administrative costs or a total of €486 million in overall cost to the Exchequer from 2006 to 2020 was paid. That was referred to in the Comptroller and Auditor General's opening statement this morning. The HSE webpage on the repayment scheme notes that a few complex cases are still being progressed. The Comptroller and Auditor General previously commented on this repayment scheme as part of the 2009 report on the accounts of public services, which came before this committee in 2011. The report examined the incidence of appeals and legal actions arising from that scheme. That report stated:

Proceedings have been instituted in 306 cases, involving patients who spent time in private nursing home facilities. None of the cases have yet proceeded to hearings.

That is according to the 2009 report so that may have changed. It would be helpful to the committee this morning if it had an indication of how many cases brought by residents in private nursing homes or their families were settled and how many are still active. Can Mr. Mulvany advise how many of the 306 cases that have been settled are included in the category of a few complex cases, which is stated on the website still?