Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 91: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the position regarding her plans to deal with the nursing home charges issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32165/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Government has agreed the key elements of a scheme for the repayment of long-stay charges for publicly funded residential care. All those fully eligible persons 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 prior to that date. The repayments will include both the charge paid and an amount to take account of inflation, using the consumer price index, since the time the person involved was charged.

It is expected the scheme will cost approximately €1 billion and at this stage it is envisaged that applications for the scheme can be received up to 31 December 2007. Figures provided by the Health Service Executive show an estimated 60,000 people are likely to be due a repayment, approximately 20,000 of these are living and 40,000 relate to estates of deceased patients.

It is my intention to have legislation brought before the Oireachtas in the next parliamentary session and to have repayments commencing shortly after the Bill is approved and signed into law. 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. 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 service improvements in elderly, mental health and disability services.

A national oversight committee has been appointed and has already begun its work. It will provide an independent input into the design of the scheme and will monitor the operation of the scheme in order to ensure that it is being implemented quickly and in the most equitable and effective way possible. 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 Health Service Executive has informed the Department of Health and Children that an outside company with experience in handling mass claims will be engaged by the end of this month to provide an independent input into the design and administration of the scheme. The national helpline set up by the HSE 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.