Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 69: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason for the continued delay in making refunds in respect of moneys illegally deducted from long-stay patients; the role outside consultants will play in this process; the expected cost of the use of such outside consultants; if consideration has been given to using expertise within the public service with experience of assessing and making large numbers of claims, such as the Department of Social and Family Affairs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8557/06]

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 wrongly charged and are alive and the estates of all those who were wrongly charged and died since 9 December 1998 will have the charges repaid in full. Draft heads of a Bill for a repayment scheme were submitted to Government in December and 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 have repayments commence shortly after the Bill is approved and signed into law.

In the preparation of the legislation there were many complex issues which required clarification. My Department had consultations with a wide range of Departments and agencies to ensure the provisions of the scheme adequately addressed these issues. These provisions included exempting from income tax those who are alive, to allow for repayments to take account of inflation by use of the consumer price index and to allow repayments to living persons and their spouses to be disregarded in means assessment for health and social welfare benefits. Consultations with the probate office of the High Court have also resulted in a streamlined process where a grant of probate is required for an application on behalf of a deceased person. The provisions of the Bill will also provide appropriate safeguards for those who are not in a position to manage their own affairs.

Extensive consultation has also taken place with the oversight committee appointed to provide an independent input into the design and monitoring of the scheme. The committee is fully briefed on all aspects of the scheme and has provided valuable input into the legislative process to date. 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. In advance of the selection of an outside company, I have requested the HSE to begin to proactively identify and work up the details of repayments due to living persons to enable prompt repayments to be made. The scheme will include an independent transparent and thorough appeals process.

The Health Service Executive has responsibility for administering this repayment scheme, including the recruitment of an outside company to manage the scheme within the agreed parameters. This outside company will also provide an independent assessment of the amount of repayment due to each applicant under the scheme. It will also help to reassure the public that the scheme is being operated in the most equitable and effective manner possible. The HSE has recently re-advertised a new procurement process for the selection of a company to administer the scheme. As the selection process is by negotiated procedure, it is not possible at this stage to indicate the expected cost of such a company.

As already indicated, the HSE is undertaking a procurement process to select this outside company. Consideration has been given to the involvement of public sector staff to assist in administering the scheme, albeit not specifically from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The HSE has informed my Department that the time constraints of the procurement process do not allow for comprehensive consideration of these possible options, which would materially alter the specifications of the tendering documentation due to issue on 6 March.