Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - Nursing Home Subventions.

Paul McGrath

Question:

695 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if money was paid by his Department to health boards in 1998 specifically to fund the repayment to elderly patients within the care of those boards money that was due to them; the amount paid to each board; and the date of payment. [2067/01]

Paul McGrath

Question:

696 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the way in which his Department decided on the amount of money to be paid to each health board in 1998 by way of a special fund to repay money due to pensioners within the care of those boards; if there were discussions between his Department and individual boards on the level of payment to be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2068/01]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 695 and 696 together.

An additional allocation of £4 million was made available in the 1998 letters of determination, letter dated 2 December 1998, to six of the eight health boards to meet the costs of arrears payments in respect of the full implementation of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990, and subsequent regulations. The breakdown of this allocation was as follows:

Board

Allocation £

Midland Health Board

300,000

Mid-Western Health Board

950,000

North-Western Health Board

830,000

Southern Health Board

560,000

South-Eastern Health Board

610,000

Western Health Board

750,000

Total

4,000,000

These arrears payments arose from an incorrect application within these board areas of Article 8.2 of the Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, which allows health boards disregard a sum equivalent to one fifth of the old age non-contributory pension when assessing means and calculating the amount of subvention to be paid.
The sum of £4 million was not provided solely for the purposes of Article 8.2 arrears payments. Health boards were also incurring additional expenditure as a result of the easing of family circumstances regulations in 1996. The funding was intended to address both issues and to meet funding shortfalls in the scheme generally.
Question No. 697 answered with Question No. 544.
Question No. 698 answered with Question No. 580.
Top
Share