Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 158: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of applications submitted to the HSE under the nursing home refund scheme on a county basis; when she intends to introduce legislation to implement the refund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23459/05]

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

The Government has agreed the key elements of a scheme for the repayment of long stay charges for publicly funded long-term residential care. All those who were charged and are alive and the estates of all those who were charged and died in the six years prior to 9 December 2004 will have the charges repaid in full. The scheme will not allow for repayments to the estates of those who died more than six years ago. The repayments will include both the actual charge paid and an amount to take account of inflation, using the CPI, since the time the person involved was charged.

Legislation to underpin the scheme will be ready in the autumn. One of the objectives of the legislation will be to put in place procedures which will protect vulnerable people from exploitation given that significant repayments in some cases will be paid to them.

The Health Service Executive is finalising an advertisement in the EU Journal to obtain expressions of interest from companies that would design and manage the repayments scheme. The company selected will work closely with the HSE to ensure that the co-operation is forthcoming on records held by the health agencies. It is anticipated that a company will be selected over the summer and will begin work in early autumn on the design of the scheme.

An oversight committee has been appointed to monitor the implementation of the repayment scheme. The committee will be chaired by Dr. Bernard Walsh, a geriatrician in St. James's Hospital and its task will be to ensure that proper governance is applied by the HSE and the company to the scheme. As regards the number of applications submitted to the Health Service Executive under the national repayment scheme on a county basis, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.