John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 10, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following:

"(3) Where the Executive makes an application pursuant to subsection (2)(c)

(i) at least 28 days' notice shall be given to the patient in question and/or, as appropriate, to the patient in question's next of kin, and

(ii) the patient in question and/or, as appropriate, the patient in question's next of kin, shall have the right to be heard at, and to make submissions to, the hearing of the Circuit Court in whose circuit the hospital or other institution, as the case may be, is situated,

in respect of any such application.".

The amendment concerns the fact that the patient has a right to know if the Executive is to take money from his or her private property account. I recently received a query concerning a constituent's elderly mother in a nursing home. She was told that money would be taken from her account to buy her a wheelchair or crutches. Will the Minister of State clarify the position that obtains in such cases? While I understand it may be necessary to take money from accounts every so often for various reasons, I believe it is not warranted for the purchase of an aid or appliance for a person who might only avail of it for a year or two and then leave it behind when he or she passes on. I am concerned that section 9 of the Bill is open to abuse and it is very important that the Department monitor the system to ensure that, where the HSE is removing money from patients' accounts, it, the executive, has clear guidelines determining how much it should remove and the reason therefor.

Patients and their families should know exactly what they are paying for. As far as I was aware, aids and appliances such as wheelchairs and crutches were exempt from the charges. My amendment seeks that patients or, in the case of their being incapacitated, their next of kin will be given 28 days notice if money is to be taken from their accounts.