Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 44: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the position regarding repayment of pensioners' nursing home fees which were illegally withheld; the time scale envisaged for such repayments; the level of response and overall costing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2626/06]

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 residential care. All those fully eligible persons who were wrongly charged and are alive and the estates of all those who were wrongly charged and are dead since 9 December 1998 will have the charges repaid in full. The repayments will include both the actual 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 that 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 repayments relate to estates of deceased patients. The Health Service Executive has received 21,600 registrations of interest for a repayment to date.

Draft heads of a Bill for a repayment scheme were submitted to Government in December and were approved. The draft heads have been submitted to Parliamentary Counsel for drafting and it is my intention to have the Bill published in the current parliamentary session and to have repayments commence shortly after the Bill is approved and signed into law.

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 as a result of initial payments made following my announcement in December 2004. The scheme will include a transparent and thorough appeals process.