Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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278. To ask the Minister for Health if there is any current pathway for a person to claim compensation for what they believe to be illegal nursing home charges paid between 1977-1979 who have not as yet made any claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9422/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Repayment Scheme was a statutory scheme established under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 to repay specified pre-2005 charges for in-patient services imposed on certain persons with full medical card eligibility in public long stay facilities, including public nursing homes. As the Scheme closed to new applications on 31 December 2007 in accordance with the provisions of the Act, no new applications can be made under the Scheme.

To date, the HSE has processed almost 35,500 claims under the Scheme and has issued repayments of approximately €453 million to over 20,300 claimants.

Wider issues in relation to historic nursing home charges are being addressed within the broader examination of matters raised in recent weeks, with the agreement that the Minister will revert to Government in three months on any further steps required.