Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of accounts administered nationally by the Health Service Executive under the patient private property account scheme; the value of these accounts both nationally and locally in the Dublin north region; the number of patients from north Dublin on whose behalf the HSE is administering accounts in both local PPP accounts and central PPP categories; the measures taken to ensure that these accounts are monitored and left untouched by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27797/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The HSE maintains up to 15,000 Patient Private Property (PPP) accounts on behalf of clients who are in long-term residential care at HSE Care Centres, such as Older Persons, Mental Health, and Intellectual/Physical Disability Centres.

The HSE operates 2,427 local PPP accounts for clients resident at Care Centres within the North Dublin Region (the area previously served by the ERHA Northern Area Health Board). A further 185 PPP accounts are maintained by the PPP accounts Central Unit, Tullamore for clients resident at these Care Centres. The total value of PPP funds administered by the HSE at 31 December 2006 was €92.5 million. The value of PPP funds retained at North Dublin Region Care Centres at that date was €7.8 million.

All Patient Private Property funds are held separately from HSE funds. Separate independent bank accounts are maintained at Care Centres for PPP funds and a record of each client's PPP balance and spending is retained at each Care Centre. Ongoing reconciliation and review of PPP accounts is undertaken by the HSE.

An external firm of Accountants undertakes an audit of PPP accounts at each of the 154 Care Centres throughout the country that operates PPP accounts and prepares this set of draft accounts on behalf of the HSE to be forwarded to the Comptroller and Auditor General. A set of national guidelines was issued by the HSE in March 2006 controlling the operation of PPP accounts at each Care Centre.