Some former nursing home residents are still owed money by health boards, following the boards' failure to ensure that a fifth of their old age pension was returned as pocket money.
The delay was criticised by the Public Accounts Committee when it met health board chief executives yesterday. The committee heard that while some health boards received State funding to make these repayments in 1997, they did not start the refunds for another two-and-a-half years.
Mr Michael Finucane, the PAC chairman, said this was a shocking commentary, showing callousness. The health boards should hang their heads in shame.
Only the North Eastern Health Board and what was then the Eastern Health Board returned the allowance to residents.
