Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 219: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Sligo will receive payment on their claim under the health repayment scheme. [16591/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Service Executive has responsibility for administering the Repayment Scheme and the information sought by the Deputy relates to matters within the area of responsibility of the Executive.

My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter investigated and to have a reply issued to the Deputy.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 220: 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 that 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. [16613/08]

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 HSE have informed my Department that over 39,000 applications for living and deceased patients have been received under the Health Repayment Scheme. Over 23,500 of the claims received by the Scheme Administrator have been concluded, which includes over 13,000 offers of repayment totalling more than €235 million. Further offers continue to be issued every week. Of the 12,976 offers made, almost 9,400 payments in the sum of €185m have been made to date.

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 and make repayments. 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.

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. The Appeals Office has informed my Department that up to 25 April 2008 the Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office had received 2,831 completed appeal forms. Decisions have issued in 1,147 cases and 272 of these decisions will result in an increased offer to the claimant.