Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 121: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she will report on her plans for refund of moneys under the national repayment scheme for overcharging of residents at public nursing institutions. [23613/05]

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. All those who were illegally charged for publicly funded long-term residential care 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 provide 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 will be brought before the Oireachtas in the autumn to underpin the scheme. 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. In the case of those who were charged and are still alive, the repayments will be exempt from tax and will not be taken into account in assessing means for health and social welfare benefits. The normal tax and means assessment arrangements will apply to those who benefit from repayments to estates.

An outside company with experience in handling mass claims will be engaged to design and manage the scheme within the parameters of the key principles approved by Government. The Health Services Executive is finalising an advertisement in the Official 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 by the Tánaiste 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.

The scheme will be designed and managed with the aim of ensuring that those who are eligible for repayments receive them as soon as possible and with the minimum possible imposition in terms of bureaucracy. Priority will be given to those who are still alive. Many of those eligible for repayments have already been identified under the ex gratia payments process. The scheme will include a transparent and thorough appeals process. The legislation will include appropriate safeguards to prevent exploitation of those who receive repayments and are not in a position to manage their own financial affairs. The scheme will include a provision to allow those eligible for a repayment to waive their right to a repayment and have the money assigned to fund one-off service improvements in elderly, mental health and disability services.

It is estimated that about 20,000 people who are still alive and a further 40,000 to 50,000 estates will benefit. It is estimated that the scheme will cost approximately €1 billion. The decision to limit payments to the estates of those who died in the past six years reflects the reference in the Supreme Court judgment to the Statute of Limitations.

The national helpline set up by the Health Services Executive to allow people to register if they believe they are due a repayment will continue to operate but there is no need for anyone who has already registered using this facility to make contact with the HSE again to register for the scheme.

Any person who considers that he or she or a family member may be eligible for repayment may register their interest in advance with the Health Service Executive, by writing to the National Refund Scheme, HSE Midland Area, Arden Road, Tullamore, County Offaly; or e.mail to refundscheme@mailq.hse.ie; or by calling the helpline 1800 777737 during office hours.