Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 9 March 2017

Public Accounts Committee

HSE's Patients' Private Property Accounts 2015
HSE Financial Statement 2015: Note 13 re Fair Deal Scheme
Health Repayments Scheme Donations Fund 2015

9:00 am

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Fáilte arís Mr. O'Brien for a slightly deferred exchange. I want to ask about the HSE's role as trustee in these patient private property accounts.

The funds held at 1 December 2015 amounted to €129.5 million. I do not know if Mr. O'Brien has a more up-to-date figure for 2016 as to what was held. Is the HSE's role as a trustee committed to paper somewhere? The Comptroller and Auditor General raised some control concerns in 2014 and 2015 such as absence of segregation of duties in care centres, absence of full bank reconciliations, non-compliance with HSE in respect of receipt of patient moneys, which moved on in 2015 to inadequate documentation supporting withdrawal from patient accounts in the care centres, and inadequate over payments from client accounts, which was raised in 2014 but seems to have been remedied. I would appreciate it if Mr. O'Brien could respond to these matters.