Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 62: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the level or degree of consultation which she has entered into with the National Council on Ageing and Older People on the content and issues surrounding the Health (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2004 and the Health (Amendment) Bill 2005. [9772/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Following legal advice from the Attorney General, in relation to the legal basis for charging for in-patient services in publicly-funded long-stay institutions, my Department issued instructions to all health boards and the ERHA to cease imposing any such charges pending the introduction of the appropriate legislation. This resulted in an estimated loss of income in the region of €2 million per week and it was important that this source of income be secured as it is applied towards health services exclusively and does not revert to the Exchequer. Emergency legislation in the form of the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2004 was therefore prepared, to provide a legal basis for charging for in-patient services in long-stay institutions, to secure this income. Given the requirement for urgent legislation and the limited timeframe involved it was not possible to enter into an extensive consultation process.

The decision of the Supreme Court of 16 February 2005 brought clarity to the matter and paved the way for the introduction of the Health (Amendment) Bill 2005 as the court did not find the provisions to provide for prospective charges of in-patients to be repugnant to the Constitution. The court stated, "In authorising the Minister to impose charges on the specified category of person, the Oireachtas clearly intended that the resources of the health boards would benefit so as to better enable them to provide the services in question while at the same time seeking to avoid doing so in a manner which would cause undue hardship". The court also pointed out "It was clearly the intention of the Oireachtas that any charges would not cause undue hardship generally or in individual cases and no doubt that is why it fixed the maximum charge at 80% of the pension".

Governments going back over 30 years have supported and implemented the policy of requiring some contribution towards shelter and maintenance of people with full eligibility in long-stay care institutions. I intend to meet the National Council on Ageing and Older People and groups representing older people in the near future to discuss the repayments scheme and other aspects of policy on long term care.

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 63: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the level or degree of consultation her predecessors entered into with the National Council on Ageing and Older People or with previous statutory bodies such as the National Council for the Elderly and the National Council for the Aged. [9773/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The National Council on Ageing and Older People was established on 19 March 1997 in succession to the National Council for the Elderly, January 1990 to March 1997, and the National Council for the Aged, June 1981 to January 1990. The functions of the council are to advise the Minister on all aspects of ageing and the welfare of older people, either at its own initiative or at the request of the Minister on issues such as social inclusion, health promotion, encouraging greater understanding between statutory and voluntary bodies and the implementation of policy reports as commissioned by my Department.

As the Deputy may be aware, one of the major policy documents that the national council was involved with was The Years Ahead Report: A review of the implementation of its recommendations, which was published in 1988. The recommendations as contained in this review together with priority areas highlighted by the Health Service Executive, were taken into account when the health strategy, Quality and Fairness, a Health System for You, published in 2001, was being prepared. The council plays a vital role in identifying and promoting models of good practice in the care of older people and service delivery to them, in conjunction with the continuous liaising with statutory, voluntary, and professional bodies involved in the development and or implementation of national regional policies.