Vol. 531 No. 2
96 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive compensation for the time when he should have received subvention for his late mother; and when payment will issue to him. [5235/01]
Articles 9.1 and 9.2 of the Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, allowed health boards to assess the ability of the adult sons and/or daughters of older people who applied for nursing home subventions to contribute towards the cost of their parents' nursing home care. The provision which allowed for this assessment was deleted from 1 January 1999. This amendment was made because the provisions in question were not consistent with the assessment procedures adopted in the granting of medical cards by health boards or in the social assistant payment schemes administered by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, wherein there is no consideration of the financial circumstances of adult sons and/or daughters of applicants.
However, I feel it is important to state that legal advice received from the Office of the Attorney General indicates that there is no legal liability on the State to make retrospective payments in relation to family circumstances. Nonetheless, in the interests of fairness and natural justice, it has been decided that moneys should be paid to those who were adversely affected by this provision and my colleagues in Government agree. It is anticipated that these payments will cost in the region of £6 million.
A group representing the Department and the health boards/Eastern Regional Health Authority has been established to ensure that this process is carried out on a uniform basis as speedily as possible. However, as the Deputy will appreciate, this will be a complex exercise involving, inter alia, difficult issues of traceability, and it may take some time to complete. Nevertheless, I can offer assurance that every effort will be made to make payments as quickly as possible.
In relation to the particular case mentioned by the Deputy, I have asked Dr. Sheelah Ryan, chief executive officer of the Western Health Board to investigate and reply directly to Deputy.
