Refunds to pensioners in the nursing home payments controversy will not affect their current pension entitlements, Minister for Social and Family Affairs Seamus Brennan confirmed yesterday.
He said, however, that a decision had yet to be made in the case of refunds to beneficiaries in cases where the pensioner has died. That decision would be made once the details of the refund scheme were made known.
"I will do everything possible to ring-fence whatever the repayment schemes brings people so that it does not affect their social welfare entitlements but I put down a marker that there has yet to be a decision in the case of money paid to an estate of a person as opposed to a living pensioner," he told Labour's Social and Family Affairs spokesman Willie Penrose.
The repayments scheme is to be announced by Minister for Health, Mary Harney, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that deductions from the pensions of residents of State-funded long-stay nursing homes, were illegal.
When Mr Penrose asked if the Minister was giving an unequivocal commitment to non-contributory old-age pensioners and widows, the minister said: "I confirm to the Deputy today that there will not be any impact on current pension entitlements".
The complications arose where the money was being refunded to an estate where there were beneficiaries. "I am anxious that we align our thinking with whatever final decisions are taken in the area of inheritance tax and taxation generally."
Mr Penrose said the issue had caused great anxiety to "the very large number of people who will qualify for the refunds as a result of the illegal levying of charges". He was concerned, however, that "many people are saving for a rainy day or to pass on an inheritance and when they die, the sums involved will be included in the calculation of assets for the clawback".
Mr Brennan said he would review the matter but pointed out that "the funds being recouped to the Exchequer were not, for whatever reason, the legal entitlements of whoever received them".
