Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney has urged some beneficiaries of the €1 billion nursing home rebates to consider donating the money for improved health services for the elderly and the disabled.
The option of donating the money was included in legislation published yesterday providing for compensation for 80,000 elderly people who were illegally charged for beds in public nursing homes.
The compensation payments are to be linked to inflation, and will apply only to illegal charges levied since December 1998.
Instead of claiming the money, people can contribute it to a fund to be used for once-off improvements to the health service for the elderly and the disabled.
Ms Harney, who is in South Africa for St Patrick's Day, told The Irish Times "there may well be people out there who have done well" from the State and who, as a result, might think of surrendering their payment to help those less fortunate.
She said she had heard many people say their mother or father was well cared for. "So we have made provision in the legislation - if people wish to donate the money to the cause of the elderly or disabilities, there will be provision for them to do that. I would encourage particularly estates to think of that."
The estates of up to 60,000 people who have died will be entitled to claim compensation. About 20,000 people still alive will also qualify. The repayments will not be subject to taxes, or be taken into account for assessments for health and social welfare benefits.
Ms Harney said the intention was to have legislation through by May and repayments would begin in June. The Health Service Executive will next week seek a private company to process the claims. It will put the contract out to tender again, having scrapped its first tender because quotations were too high.
Condemning the length of time it has taken the Department of Health and Children to produce the legislation, Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey said it "was 13 months overdue". "What is certain is that there has been a shameful delay in bringing this legislation forward since the Supreme Court ruled that these long-stay charges were illegal over a year ago."
Dr Twomey and Labour's deputy leader Liz McManus said the claims could and should be processed by the HSE and not by a private contractor. Last year, Dr Twomey noted, the Department of Agriculture paid out €980 million to 110,600 farmers in one week thus proving that the public sector could handle major schemes. Ms McManus said the bill now facing the taxpayer would have been much smaller if former minister for health Micheál Martin "had been doing his job properly".
Green Party TD John Gormley said the Tánaiste had initially justified the illegal payments and no politician has yet faced sanction.