Michael Mulcahy (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

This is a very important issue and I joined others in the House in expressing concern when it transpired some time ago that these payments had been taken from elderly people in residential care under illegal circumstances. There is no need to revisit the debate as to who knew what or when. This matter has been not only discussed in this House but was also dealt with extensively in the media. Obviously, the Civil Service was also involved. I am delighted that the repayments will commence in June. The key point is that those who had pension or other payments deducted illegally must be repaid promptly. Many of these people are elderly and some may be mentally infirm and could even be wards of court. All Members agree that there must be no more delay with these repayments. It is a complex issue and I understand that a public procurement process must be followed. On behalf of my constituents who may have been affected I urge the Government to ensure that there is no further delay with the scheme.

I am delighted with the introduction of the private patient accounts, which is well overdue. It was remiss of all of us not to have considered in the past how pension and other social welfare payments would be handled in the case of those who are elderly or infirm. That issue can and will be fully addressed with private patient accounts.

This should be the first stage of a debate on care for senior citizens at a time in their lives when they may not be able to care for themselves. We need to do more to support households, not just carers, but also families. Most elderly people would prefer to either stay on their own in their own house or live with their family in, for instance, a granny flat. I have considerable experience in dealing with elderly people in my area. Most of them do not want institutionalisation, which should be regarded as a last step. We all know how expensive it is. I urge the Minister of State to review this area. It is much more expensive to have people in residential care than it is to have them in the community. I also pay tribute to the many voluntary groups which support the elderly, not only in the community but also by offering house visits. Some of the groups have had difficulties with their budgets, although most of them are being looked after. It is not good enough that many of them have to spend weeks or months scraping the barrel, contacting their local public representatives and making sure their finances are in order. I am calling for a guaranteed roll-over payment to be issued to all community groups which assist and support the elderly in their homes, in day care centres or in community groups.

I welcome this Bill, which will undoubtedly place a large strain on the Exchequer. A sum of €1 billion has been mentioned. The Army deafness cases were spread out over several years, but the payments in this instance cannot be spread out over several years. We have to face our responsibilities quickly and without any encumbrance. As many of the people in question are elderly, I would like a clear timeframe to be set out for the payments. If the payments start in June of this year, I respectfully suggest we should aim to complete the disbursement of all the moneys within a year.

I thank my friend, Deputy O'Connor, for giving me some leeway. This matter should be referred for ongoing monitoring to the relevant Oireachtas committee, which should receive monthly progress reports on the disbursement of these moneys, all of which should be disbursed within a year, if possible. I welcome the Bill.

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