Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the House. The Department of Health and Children is dealing with this issue in a competent manner. The Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2004, which has been passed by the Dáil and will be passed by the Seanad today, has been brought to the House on the basis that it is required. It will regulate this sector, which has been the subject of a great deal of concern over a long period. As a former chairman of the Western Health Board, I have dealt with many nursing home subvention cases involving patients in long-stay care in publicly funded nursing homes, which used to be known as county homes.

Recent developments have come as a surprise to many people. Residents of public nursing homes were satisfied to make a contribution and to receive what has been termed the "pocket money" that they were given. Many people considered the pocket money to be inadequate to meet the needs of the residents, especially when one considers the increased costs of modern times. When the nursing home subvention scheme was introduced in private nursing homes, regulations required family members to contribute towards the cost of the care of their elderly relatives. It proved impossible to administer the scheme, which was scrapped some time ago. I am sure the Minister of State is familiar with the details of the debacle at that time. The collapse of the scheme raised serious issues about long-term care in private and public institutions. The cost of a bed in a private nursing home is approximately €500 or €600. If a person whose pension has been taken away has to make a contribution, he or she might need to sell the family home to pay for care in a long-term institution.

The nursing homes operated by the State are of a very high standard. The three such homes in County Roscommon — the Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon town, which has over 200 long-stay beds, Áras Mháthair Phóil in Castlerea and the Plunkett Home in Boyle — are managed extremely well by the Western Health Board. The staff and directors of nursing in the homes provide the highest possible standard of care and attention. Private nursing homes have provided tremendous service, in co-operation with the health boards. Some form of control or regulation should be introduced to deal with the number of nursing homes being built in certain areas without regard to the number of patients who need to be dealt with in the areas. Similarly, action should be taken to control costs, which have soared in recent years.

I ask the Minister to clarify an interesting anomaly that came to my attention in November. I will refer to the man in question, who is a resident of a long-stay institution, as "Mr. G". His Irish pension is taken from him and he is given some pocket money in the normal way. Along with that little allowance, he used to receive a small pension from the United Kingdom that was of great assistance to him because brandy and whiskey can be quite expensive. I brought this case to the attention of the relevant administrative authorities in November, before this Bill was published, when I learnt that Mr. G's UK pension was being confiscated, even though he had not given permission to do so. I considered that it was improper to take the money from him.

As recently as yesterday, the administrative personnel in the Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon town justified their decision to confiscate Mr. G's small UK pension. They informed me that they have not received any instructions about the Bill under consideration. I accept that it has not been passed or signed by the President. The Department's programme managers should send documentation to the institutions to alert them to the matters which are arising. When I spoke to Mr. G, who is 79 years of age, on the telephone yesterday, he told me he is delighted to be getting his €2,000 back. He made the point that it is strange that if the Bill was beneficial to him, it probably would not be passed as quickly by the Houses. Mr. G is well-known for his interest for politics. He canvassed strongly in south Roscommon in the past.