Kenny says Harney was warned on care Bill

Reaction: Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said today the Government ignored Opposition warnings on the consitutionality of …

Reaction:Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said today the Government ignored Opposition warnings on the consitutionality of the Health Amendment Bill.

The Supreme Court found this morning the Bill was unconstitutional because it sought to ban patients of State-run care homes from recovering charges taken illegally from their pensions over a 30-year period.

Speaking after the ruling, Mr Kenny said: "Rushed legislation is bad legislation.

"It was clear that the Government was well warned of the difficulties it faced on this issue by Fine Gael, but it ignored those warnings.

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"We are talking here about the elderly, the vulnerable, the people who built this state."

Mr Kenny estimated the Government was facing a bill of €500 million from pensioners who had money illegally deducted from their pension books since 1999.

The Minister for Health and the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, is due to make a statement on the ruling in the Dáil later today.

The Supreme Court ruling is a "stinging rebuke" to the approach taken by Ms Harney, the Labour party said.

Labour's spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus said the party's position on the matter had been vindicated.

"Immediately following the passing of the Bill I wrote to the Office of the President suggesting that the she should seek the advice of the Council of State and that our advice was that there were serious questions marks over the constitutionality of the Bill," Ms McManus said.

She said the decision "points to the dangers of rushing important legislation such as this Bill through the Dail without giving members the time required to fully assess its implications.

"All stages of this Bill were guillotined, despite the protests of the Labour Party and other opposition parties.

"This decision is a stinging rebuke from the highest court in the land to the approach of the Tanaiste to this entire issue and it raises very serious questions about her political judgement."