Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before I start, I want to declare that I acted in a legal capacity - and the Secretary General is aware of this - against the Department of Health and the health boards starting in 2004 in relation to these nursing home cases, and, in fact, I acted in the settlement of both public and private cases. In fairness to the people before us, some of this goes back as far as 1956, if you go through all of the changes and everything else. We must fully accept that the people before use only recently become involved in this area, and we have to acknowledge that.

On the issue of nursing home charges, and the Department's delay in taking action, there was a case in 1976 in respect of Maud McInerney, which defined nursing home care. I understand a senior counsel opinion was sent to the Department of Health as far back as 1978, and still no action was taken throughout the following 28 years until 2004, when there was a legal challenge over those charges in public nursing homes.

I am concerned about the fact that when a Department became aware of an irregularity - and this was highlighted in the Ombudsman's report in 2000 - no action was taken. I wonder now, in relation to the other matters that are coming up in respect of private nursing home claims, about setting up a structure to deal with them, in particular private nursing home claims where there was clear evidence that there was a demand for a public bed at the time, that that demand could not be met by the health board or the HSE and that as a result the person went into a private nursing home.

Is there not now a need to look at the structure where there is clear evidence that there was such a demand for a public bed, it was not provided and, as a result, the person ended up having to pay full private nursing home charges?