Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

l do not accept this amendment because it places a deadline on the period for determining eligibility under the scheme and there may be a delay in certain cases in determining eligibility where an applicant had not applied for a medical card but who fell within the income-means threshold for a medical card.

The scope of the scheme will apply to fully eligible people, that is, medical card holders and those over 70, with effect from July 2001. To ensure that repayments are made in an equitable manner, those who do not have a medical card on admission to long-stay care but who fall within the income-means threshold for a medical card will be regarded as having full eligibility for the purpose of the scheme. This will include those in publicly funded long-stay care, patients in public contracted beds in private nursing homes and patients in receipt of inpatient services in community settings.

The Department has been in contact with the Department of Social and Family Affairs to assist in the determination of eligibility by virtue of being in receipt of the non-contributory old age pension and has offered its assistance in this regard. I do not accept this amendment which proposes repayment within 28 days of determination of a person's eligibility because it is not proposed to include a deadline for making repayments, given the extended period of time during which some patients may have been in care and the significant numbers of records that may need to be checked in certain cases.

However, repayments will be made as promptly as possible following receipt of an application. No deadline has been included in this provision as some applications will take longer than 28 days to process, depending on the complexity of the application and whether accurate records are available. An applicant will also be given an appropriate timeframe to appeal the determination of money to be repaid. Applications will be processed as quickly as possible, having regard to the individual circumstances pertaining to each application. The uppermost consideration will be to ensure that the relevant person receives the full amount of repayment due.

The Act contains a provision that ensures that repayments to living persons are prioritised over the repayments to estates. We acknowledge the role played by Deputy Perry and that, as an Opposition figure, he behaved very responsibly in this regard. Following the Supreme Court decision, we gave certain commitments and produced deadlines in good faith. On Second Stage, I clearly explained the reason for the delay in bringing forward the legislation. Apart from introducing the most expensive repayment scheme ever seen in this country, in general terms, we are paying money to people who are very vulnerable. Therefore, we must ensure proper safeguards are in place to guarantee the money is paid to the people who deserve it and that it is not abused and does not enter other hands. A considerable amount of communication took place and many matters needed to be resolved before we could produce the legislation.

From our perspective, the legislation cannot be introduced quickly enough. Once we publish the legislation, we are anxious to get it through the Houses as quickly as possible. I indicated that the decision to appoint an outside company will go before the board of the Health Service Executive on 1 June 2006 and that the repayment process will begin in July 2006. We have provided €400 million in the 2006 Estimates to kick-start the repayment process and if more money is required, we will provide it. There is no saving from our perspective. I have been asked whether the percentage of people entitled to repayments is 30% or 40%. I do not know for certain but I would be surprised if the figure was that high. Naturally, some of the people in question will have died but their estates will be entitled to apply for repayment, so from our perspective, the sum of money that was due 12 months ago has not changed. There will be no delays on our side in respect of repaying the money.

The request for 28 days is unnecessary. Some complications will arise. For example, certain individuals could become ill or be forced to be absent for a week or two, which could delay repayment. There will certainly be no delay. The contract into which the HSE is entering with the outside company will last two years. It is not in our interests to delay repayments. We are happy to see them processed as quickly as possible.

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