asked the Minister for Health if any circular letter was addressed to health authorities by his Department intimating that the income of sons, daughters, sisters or brothers of insured persons may be sought and assessed by health authorities for the purpose of applying the maximum charge of 10/- per day for services under Section 15 of the Health Act, 1953, as amended.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospital Maintenance Charges.
13.
No circular letter on the lines suggested by the Deputy has been addressed to health authorities by my Department.
14.
asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that Health Authorities or their managers are imposing health service charges of up to 10/- per day on insured persons and injured workmen, under Section 15 of the Health Act, 1953, as amended, on the basis that sons, daughters, or other family members are in receipt of wages or other income; if he will state the precise provisions of that Act, which enable a county manager to impose a charge on an insured person related to the income of other persons; and if any provisions of the Public Assistance Act, 1939 are used by County Managers for the purposes of imposing, assessing or collecting charges under Section 15 of the Health Act, 1953.
Under subsection (4) of Section 15 of the Health Act, 1953, a charge may be made at the discretion of the health authority on an insured person who is not in the lower income group, as specified in Section 14 of the Act. Subsection (4), as amended, specified these charges as "such charges, not exceeding ten shillings for each day during which institutional services are availed of, as may be determined by the health authority". Thus the amount of the charge in each case is at the discretion of the manager in his discharge of the functions of the health authority and I have no functions relating to the amount of the charge in any case or the factors taken into account in assessing charges. There is, however, nothing in the Act which prevents a manager, when exercising his discretion in this matter, taking into account all appropriate factors such as family income.
The Public Assistance Act, 1939 has no direct relevance to the assessment of the amount of a charge under Section 15, but it is provided in Section 31 of the 1953 Act that such charges may be recovered from
(a) the person in respect of whom the charge is made or, in case such person has died, his legal personal representative, or
(b) any other person liable to maintain such person for the purposes of the Public Assistance Act, 1939, by virtue of Section 27 of that Act or, in case such person has died, his legal personal representative.
Broadly, Section 27 of the 1939 Act specified that children are liable to maintain their parents, that parents are liable to maintain their offspring up to the age of sixteen, and that spouses are liable to maintain each other.
I might add that Section 27 of the 1939 Act and Section 31 of the 1953 Act seem to be consistent with Article 41 of the Constitution which stresses the special position of the family as the primary and fundamental unit group of our society.
Does the Minister not agree that the county managers appear to add a little bit on to that, even outside the Constitution, by insisting that the income of brothers and sisters be included when the question of health charges is being considered?
It is a filial duty of brothers and sisters to assist each other.
Even if they belong to a separate household?
That is another matter.
It may be fraternal but certainly not filial.
Familial.