Nearly €16 million has been paid out to people in Mayo under the Nursing Home Repayment Scheme. The average payment amounted to €20,000 with 766 claims paid. At present there are 62 claims still being processed in Mayo while 857 offers of payment have been made. Of the 1,264 claims made in Mayo 345 were rejected.
The scheme was devised after it emerged that many residents of public nursing homes in Ireland during the period 1976 to 2004 were required to pay charges when there was no correct legal basis for those charges. Some of these residents or their heirs may now be entitled to a refund of all or some of those charges, however the closing date for applications under the repayment scheme was December 31 2007.
The Health Service Executive has responsibility for administrating the Health Repayment Scheme in conjunction with the appointed scheme administrator KPMG accountants and McCann Fitzgerald solicitors.
Where claims are still being processed there is a difficulty with the institution records, with determining eligibility, or because there is a complexity in relation to probate.
The HSE has advised that repayments offered cannot be paid until the statutory 28 day period for appeal has elapsed and a completed acceptance form has been returned to the scheme administrator.
