Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of court challenges that have been brought in respect of his refusal to include within the nursing homes repayment scheme those medical cardholders who had to be cared for in private nursing homes because there were no public nursing home beds available; the number of these cases that have been settled; the number still ongoing and the amount that has been spent, to date, in relation to these court challenges. [7997/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Health and Children does not have responsibility for deciding which cases are within or without the Health Repayment Scheme. These are matters for the Scheme Administrator and the Appeals Officers as provided for under the terms of the Health Repayment Scheme Act. Those decisions are made in accordance with the criteria decided upon by the Oireachtas and set out in that Act. Approximately 300 cases have been brought against the HSE and the Department of Health and Children concerning people who spent time in private nursing homes. My Department is dealing with this litigation on a case by case basis. The cases are not all identical, the facts differ significantly. My Department is defending these cases in the usual way in accordance with advice we receive from our legal advisers and the Office of the Attorney General. On foot of legal advice and taking into account the individual circumstances, a very small number of cases have been settled on a confidential basis.