Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of what are called patient private property, PPP, accounts. These accounts are administered under section 2 of the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006. Essentially, they are accounts that are administered by the HSE on behalf of vulnerable people who are in long-term residential care facilities run by the HSE or on its behalf. In the main, it applies to elderly people, people with mental health issues or intellectual disabilities and to wards of court. These accounts in the central unit of the HSE hold the property of these persons. That property can be administered and used by representatives of the HSE directly or by a third party or agent of the HSE for the benefit and care of the person involved. Guidelines are in place to ensure this is done ethically and in a transparent fashion in the best interests of the vulnerable person. I understand there are approximately 15,000 such accounts being administered by the HSE at present.If the Minister of State could confirm the overall number, that would be helpful.

There is a problem with how these accounts operate. Under section 2 of the Act, a patient's private property account is defined as meaning "so much of the money and personal property ... that is managed, on behalf of the person, by the Executive or by another person under an arrangement with the Executive". It refers to the property of a person in various categories, including "a person otherwise being cared for by, or on behalf of, the Executive due to a physical or mental disability or ill-health". In other words, the facility whereby money is held centrally by the HSE and then accessible in appropriate ways to pay for services only applies to people being cared for in the public system. It does not apply to people being cared for in private nursing homes regardless of how vulnerable they might be. For example, a person may be going into care who has, God forbid, an alcoholic son or daughter. It might not be possible for that person to manage money or a bank card and nor might it be desirable for it to be managed by a family member. That person might wish to have access to the facility of a patient's private property account provided to people in the public service.

I received representations on this matter from people who are familiar with the sector and work in the area of the rights of elderly and vulnerable people. They indicated they believe this puts patients in private homes at a disadvantage. They believe the accounts and property of such people should be capable of being administered and applied, on their behalf and for their welfare, where appropriate circumstances exist similar to those of a person being cared for in the public system, the only difference being that the latter is being cared for in the public system.

It would be helpful if the Minister of State could indicate to the House the number of these accounts currently in place under section 2 of the Act. I believe this developed in the context of the repayment of charges wrongly levied on people originally but it has evolved since then. Payments to people who were in institutional settings was the context for setting up this system but it has since evolved in the way I described. People who are familiar with the sector believe elderly and vulnerable people in private homes are at a disadvantage. It would be helpful to know how many such accounts exist, whether they are operating in a satisfactory manner and what safeguards are in place.