Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 238: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the amount paid by the Exchequer to a firm of solicitors (details supplied) in Dublin 2 since the health repayment scheme 2006 was enacted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22631/09]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 239: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the amount paid to the scheme administrator (details supplied) since the enactment of the health repayment scheme 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22632/09]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the amount paid out under the health repayment scheme since the enactment of the scheme in 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22633/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 238 to 240, inclusive, together.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has responsibility for administering the health repayment scheme in conjunction with the appointed scheme administrator KPMG/McCann Fitzgerald. As per the contract agreement with the Scheme Administrator the HSE make payments to the consortium on foot of invoices received from KPMG Accountants and payments are payable to KPMG accountants on behalf of the consortium. A total of €12.8m has been paid to the Scheme Administrator since the launch of the scheme in August 2006. Since the Health Repayment Scheme was launched in August 2006, in excess of 17,400 payments have been made to claimants under the scheme at a value of €385m.

A total of €406m has been expended to date on the Health Repayment Scheme and a breakdown of the costs is as follows:

Overheads include payments to the Scheme Administrator, Advertising, Legal Expenses, H.S.E. Pay Costs, Appeal Function Costs and General Office Expenses.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 241: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of appeals currently being considered with regard to the health repayment scheme 2006; the number of administrators appointed to deal with these appeals; the number of successful appeals since 2006 to date in 2009; the average waiting period for processing of appeal applications and the pay out on appeal since the enactment of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22634/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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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 29 May 2009 the Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office had received 5,593 completed appeal forms. Decisions have issued in 3,421 of these cases and 663 of these decisions have disagreed with the decision of the Scheme Administrator. The current average waiting time for an Appeals Officer's decision is 264 calendar days.

Appeals Officer decisions relating to amounts of recoverable health charges due are forwarded to the Scheme Administrator and to the Health Service Executive for implementation. 798 appeals determined by the Appeals Office have been implemented by the Scheme Administrator at a value of approx. €10.5m. These determined appeals are comprised of appeal decisions where the Appeals Officer has disagreed with the amount offered by the Scheme Administrator and also appeal decisions where the Appeals Officer has agreed with the original amount offered by the Scheme Administrator.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 242: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the policy in relation to dealing with representations made by Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas in relation to applicants under the health repayment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22636/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) has responsibility for administering the Health Repayment Scheme. Accordingly representations made by members of the Houses of the Oireachtas in relation to individual applications under the Health Repayment Scheme are referred to the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive so that the matter may be investigated and a reply issued to the member concerned.