James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: 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 of appeals made against offers; the number of appeals decided; the number of appeals which have received an increased offer; the number of appeals officers employed by the scheme; the number of payments made to date; the cost of same; the cost of administering the scheme; the average waiting time to process an application; the number of applications that have yet to be decided upon; when the scheme will complete its work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5168/09]

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.

Since the commencement of the scheme almost 35,000 applications have been received by the Scheme Administrator. Over 33,000 of these applications have been concluded which has resulted in excess of 19,500 offers being made to date. Payments have issued to over 16,000 claimants with a value totalling in excess of €353m. In the region of 1,600 applications remain to be determined. The vast majority of the remaining offers will issue by the end of April 2009. 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. Two Appeals Officers have been appointed to consider appeals. Up to 30 January 2009 the Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office had received 5,220 appeals, of which 1,385 relate to appeals made against amount offers to claimants. The Appeals Office has issued 2,806 appeal decisions and of these appeal decisions, 184 decisions have resulted in an increased offer to claimants and 242 decisions have resulted in an initial offer to claimants. The total cost of administering the Scheme to the end of January 2009 was €21m which includes payments made to the Scheme Administrator, HSE administrative costs, Appeals Office costs, legal fees and probate costs.