The cost of repaying tens of thousands of older people and their families who were illegally charged for public nursing-home beds has reached nearly €500 million, it has emerged.
The annual report of the Department of Health, which was published tonight, says that total expenditure on the scheme up until the end of last year was €447 million.
The annual report says that €80 million in funding was provided last year to meet the cost of re-payments and that this was fully utilised.
The 2009 annual report of the Department states that in that year 2,853 repayments were completed at a cost of €76 million.
The report says that in 2009 the Department of Health, which largely has responsibility for policy in the health area - with the HSE dealing with operational matters - dealt with nearly 6,000 parliamentary questions, over 240 Dail adjournment debates and 90 Seanad adjournment debates.
The report also says that the Minister for Health Mary Harney and the various ministers of State received more than 7,700 representations.
