Nursing home charges liabilities
Deputy Kenny asked whether families still faced financial liabilities in the nursing home charges issue. The Taoiseach explained the €5 billion figure referred to public rather than private nursing homes and said the old estimates were no longer valid, though some cases were still outstanding.
My question relates to nursing home charges, which is an ongoing issue.
I understand this goes back a number of decades and the information can be quite opaque, but it raises many questions regarding how the Department of Health and successive governments dealt with this issue. My question is valid and it is to be hoped the Taoiseach can answer it. There are issues in respect of families who were financially burdened with costs. Are there any outstanding liabilities that families and individuals have at present?
Comment on this
I am not entirely sure what the Deputy means by "outstanding liabilities". There are still cases; some are dormant and some have not been settled. I am not sure what he means by liabilities.
Comment on this
Financial liabilities to families that are going through the courts. According to this document, some €5 billion is-----
Comment on this
Okay. The €5 billion was an estimate related to public nursing homes and not private nursing homes. A scheme was set up - I do not know when but under then Minister for Health, Mary Harney - to compensate people who were charged in public nursing homes. The initial estimate was €5 billion. By the time the scheme was developed, it came down by €1 billion. In the end, €480 million was paid out. These figures we hear, whether €5 billion, €7 billion or €12 billion, have no validity any more. They were way off the mark. However, there are still cases outstanding.