Estimates by the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive on the costs of the nursing home refunds differed by up to €550 million, the Dáil heard yesterday.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said the costs would depend on the level of take-up, particularly by the estates of deceased patients, but the lower estimate by the Department of Health was €845 million.
"A figure of approximately €1.2 billion or €1.3 billion has been estimated by the Health Service Executive," she told Labour leader Pat Rabbitte.
"It is in that ballpark, which is why I have used a figure of approximately €1 billion which is somewhere between the two. I do not think the legislation will be passed until the autumn, so I think the bulk of it will be paid next year."
Ms Harney will next week sign regulations based on new legislation allowing for public patients to be charged for long-stay care, when up to 80 per cent of non-contributory pensions will be deducted for care.
The Tánaiste said she had asked the department to "expedite" the preparation of regulations covering the case of the elderly "because we are losing about €12 million a month".
She also told the Labour leader that the controversial missing file on the issue had not turned up. Mr Rabbitte accused former health minister Micheál Martin of "squatting" over the file, which Mr Martin has insisted he never saw.
Details of the scheme to repay residents of publicly-funded nursing homes for illegal deductions from their pensions were announced on Wednesday and the issue was raised again, by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who asked if the Government intended to amend the Public Service Management Act since Mr Martin "accepts no responsibility for the debacle foisted upon the Irish people".
He said the former minister refused to accept responsibility "despite the fact that it is contained in the Public Service Management Act". Ms Harney said there were no plans to change the Act.
Mr Rabbitte said the entire nursing home charges controversy "pivots around the missing file from the Attorney General" on the issue and he claimed Mr Martin had "squatted" over the file.
Mr Rabbitte asked if there was any investigation going on. The Tánaiste replied that "there has been a major reorganisation of the department. It has a new secretary general. Considerable effort was spent trying to locate that famous file from the Attorney General but it has yet to be found. I don't have it."
Labour's finance spokeswoman, Joan Burton, returned to the issue and asked if there would be further legislation "on the disclosure of facts concerning a file being sent to a minister's office and no trace of it existing". She said this was costing €1 billion and "a key issue of public service reform". Ms Harney replied: "We do not require legislation to ensure files go from A to B."
