Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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680. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 278 of 23 February 2023, if there is any further development in the provision of a pathway for a person to claim compensation for what they believe to be illegal nursing home charges paid between 1977 and 1979, who has not as of yet made any claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30855/23]

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.

Upon the raising of issues earlier this year about how the State has approached legal challenges taken againstit in relation to pre-2005 legacy nursing home charges, the Government moved quickly to establish the facts surrounding these issues, which go back many decades, by requesting the Attorney General to prepare a Report on the litigation management strategy. This comprehensive Report was published on 7 February 2023 and may be accessed at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/22adc-attorney-generals-report-on-nursing-home-charges-and-disabled-persons-maintenance-allowance/

As committed in February, the Minister is considering the Attorney General’s report and briefing prepared by the Department further and hopes to revert to Government shortly.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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681. To ask the Minister for Health whether a review of policy to prohibit former nursing homes registered on 1 September 2022 converting to accommodation for Ukrainian refugees has been completed; if there has been any change to the policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30856/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Government takes the closure of nursing homes very seriously. Ensuring that the welfare and safety of residents is secured when nursing homes close is of the utmost importance. It is essential that when nursing homes are intending to close or cease participating in the Nursing Home Support Scheme, that residents and their families must be consulted with, and given appropriate notice so that new homes can be found and residents can move in a safe, planned way.

There is a legal requirement that providers must give at least six months’ notice to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) if they intend to close. This provides residents, families and public health authorities appropriate time to respond effectively.

It became apparent in late August last year that a small number of active nursing homes had chosen, or were seriously considering, to convert into accommodation centres for beneficiaries of temporary protection. Other active nursing homes were known to be in official negotiations or to be considering this approach.

Given the challenges currently being faced in the nursing home sector and noticing a small trend emerging, Minister Donnelly and I agreed with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD, to change the procurement guidelines around accommodation for persons under temporary protection in order to remove from consideration active nursing homes that were still registered operators with HIQA on or after the date of 1 September 2022.

The intention behind this position has been to avoid unintentionally incentivising active nursing homes to leave the market. Former nursing homes that had already ceased operation and were deregistered prior to this date remained unaffected if they wished to enter into contracts as accommodation providers.

Following review of the policy at the end of April, the decision has been made to adopt a more flexible approach and to allow the conversion of nursing homes into accommodation centres for international protection applicants and/or beneficiaries of temporary protections after 18 months following deregistration from the Health Information and Quality Agency Chief Inspector’s register.

This allows for an appropriate closure process for residents and staff of nursing homes, while preventing facilities from being empty indefinitely where they might provide a source of accommodation for international protection applicants and/or beneficiaries of temporary protection.

The Government continues to prioritise the best interests of nursing home residents to ensure that their welfare, care and well-being is ensured whilst simultaneously ensuring that nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings.