Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

Yes. Not that we take any comfort from the Supreme Court finding that something was done which should not have been, but the practice was accepted by successive Governments and the majority of the people involved. They felt they were getting good value for the care given. That aside and following the Supreme Court decision, we have a responsibility which we have acted on. By appointing an outside company, a certain credibility is lent to the process. The people need have no doubt that the process will be carried out in a fair manner.

Deputy Ó Caoláin raised some questions. We expect the claims of those living to be somewhere between 16,000 and 20,000. With the previous legislation there was an ex gratia payment of up to €2,000. Just under 11,000 people were paid under that scheme. At the moment we have in the region of 22,000 applications for repayments. That would include both living people and estates. It is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 estates could be entitled to repayments. With regard to required manpower, the HSE has indicated that it would require approximately 100 people over a period of two years to deal with the claims.

See this speech in context