asked the Minister for Health the total amount of social welfare payments held by hospitals and nursing homes in respect of long-term patients in the last year for which figures are available.
Written Answers. - Long-term Patients.
237.
I explained in my reply to a question by the Deputy on 29 November 1977, Official Report, Volume 302, column 175, that it is the practice for health boards to hold on behalf of some persons the balance of social welfare allowances which accrue after the recipients have paid their contribution towards maintenance in long-stay institutions; that this normally relates to persons who are unable to look after the money themselves. I also stated that information was not available in my Department as to the amounts of such moneys held by the boards; neither is the information available in relation to private hospitals and nursing homes.