Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Department and the Government would like to class this whole scandal of elderly people being ripped off and denied their entitlements as historical and deliberate - the policy decision was deliberate - but there is one issue that is ongoing. It also relates to the most vulnerable, namely, people in nursing homes. I have raised the issue with the HSE numerous times and with Mr. Watt at this committee. When I raised it with Mr. Watt, it related to elderly people in private nursing homes who are entitled to a medical card and who are being charged for items that would be ordinarily free of charge if they were in the community. In 2021, Mr. Watt said he was not aware of the issue. Last week, the HSE, despite the committee corresponding with it several times, indicated it was not aware. Mr. Watt followed up with the committee in February 2022 stating that the Department was aware of a number of issues in relation to additional charges and was requesting additional information. The HSE does not seem to have acted on that. However, a freedom of information, FOI, response I received from the assistant national director for primary care reimbursement services stated the primary place where an intervention could be put in to ensure that nursing home clients are not charged for items that would be covered under the medical card scheme would be via inserting a clause in the document between the HSE and residential care settings or nursing homes stating the requirement not to charge. What has come to the fore in the past fortnight is no surprise given that these days the HSE still could not give a damn. Despite the fact that I have raised this matter numerous times with the HSE, it still did not act. Does Mr. Watt agree with the statement by the assistant national director for primary care reimbursement service that a clause should be put in the document instructing the private nursing homes? If so, why is that not being done? We can talk about historical scandals.