Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 314: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that offers made to elderly persons or their representatives under the nursing home repayment scheme fall short of their payments to the institutions in question; if provision in statute has been made for such underpayments; the steps she is taking to ensure that the full entitlement is offered to elderly persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3815/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) has responsibility for administering the health repayment scheme in conjunction with the appointed scheme administrator KPMG/McCann Fitzgerald. The Scheme provides a mechanism to repay recoverable health charges for publicly funded long stay residential care. Repayments 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.

The scheme also provides for an independent appeals process to allow applicants to appeal the decision of the scheme administrator.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 315: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of applications received under the nursing home repayment scheme; the number of applicants issued offers to date; the number which have reviewed the offer made by the scheme; the number of reviews decided; the number of which reviews have received an increased offer; the number of payments made to date; the number of applications to be decided upon; the average waiting time to process an application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3816/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Over 36,000 applications for living and deceased patients have been received under the Health Repayment Scheme. Over 16,500 of the claims received by the Scheme Administrator have been concluded, which includes over 9,650 offers of repayment totalling more than €182 million. Further offers continue to be issued every week. Of the 9,650 offers made, almost 7,200 payments in the sum of €142m have been made to date.

The Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office is an independent office established to provide an appeals service to those who wish to appeal the decision of the Scheme Administrator under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006.

Up to 1 February 2008 the Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office had received 1,756 completed appeal forms. Decisions have issued in 546 cases and 98 of these decisions will result in an increased offer to the claimant.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has indicated that the Scheme is progressing as speedily as possible and every effort is being made to settle claims as quickly as possible. A very high number of deficiencies have appeared on claim forms which must each be rectified before they can be processed. It is estimated that approximately two thirds of all claim forms were submitted without some critical piece of information which meant that the claim could not be processed until the Scheme Administrator had written to the potential claimant and received the information required.

The Scheme Administrator has given assurances to the HSE that the vast majority of claims submitted by the public will be dealt with within the 2 year time frame allotted for the scheme which is due to end in June 2008. If there are any outstanding claims at the end of June 2008, such claims will be kept to an absolute minimum and will be dealt with as quickly as possible.