James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 231: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the timeframe for payments to vulnerable client groups under the health repayment scheme there will now be, in view of the additional resources put in place be the HSE for this purpose; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18838/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The health repayment scheme was launched in August 2006 and is administered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in conjunction with the appointed Scheme Administrator KPMG/McCann Fitzgerald.

The position at 15th June, 2007 was that 3,200 offers of repayment, with a value of approximately €60m have been issued by the scheme administrator. Arising from these offers approximately 1,800 repayments with a value of approximately €38m have been made to date.

This rate of repayment is lower than had been projected. I understand from the HSE that this is due to a number of factors including the legal and technical requirements, a high level of deficiencies in the application forms submitted to the scheme administrator and complexities in the operation of the probate process.

In accordance with the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006, priority has been given to repaying living applicants as they were most immediately affected. However, the repayments to estates has now commenced. In relation to elderly widows or widowers of deceased persons and the priority that should be given to their claims, the HSE has put additional resources in place to encourage both the completion of application forms for clients in vulnerable client groups and to ensure these claims (in particular where there is an elderly spouse who could benefit) are processed as quickly as possible. The timeframe for the processing of these applications will depend on the individual circumstances pertaining to each application. Some applications will take longer to progress than others depending on the complexity of the application, the amount of information provided on the application form and the availability of records for the relevant periods of care.

A dedicated website www.repay.ie, an information phone line 1890 886 886 and an e-mail facility queries@repay.ie have been established by the scheme administrator to assist the public in accessing claim forms and general information on the scheme. The information line operates between the hours of 9.00 am and 6.00 pm Monday to Friday. The helpline has dealt with 50,161 queries to date.

The HSE is monitoring the operation of the repayment scheme and has agreed a range of initiatives with the scheme administrator to speed up the repayment process. The closing date for receipt of applications is 31st December 2007 and I have been informed by the HSE that final repayments should be made by mid 2008.