Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 179: To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding the health repayment scheme and persons who paid long-stay charges and died before 9 December 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33777/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 provided a clear legal framework to repay recoverable health charges for publicly funded long term residential care. e closing date for receipt of applications to the scheme was 31 December 2007. All living fully eligible persons who were wrongly charged were entitled to have their charges repaid in full. e estates of all those fully eligible persons who were wrongly charged for publicly funded long term residential care and had died since 9 December 1998 were also entitled to have the charges repaid in full. e scheme did not allow for repayments to the estates of those who died prior to that date.

The decision to limit repayments to the estates of those who died in the six years prior to 9 December 2004 reflects the then Government's decision to rely on the Statute of Limitations to limit the scale of the overall repayments which would otherwise fall to be made.