Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006

Payment of prescribed repayments and operation of patients’ private property accounts, etc.

9.— (1) Subject to subsection (3), the Executive may pay a prescribed repayment—

(a) into the relevant person’s bank, building society, credit union or post office account or by cheque,

(b) in the case of a living relevant person, into the relevant person’s patient’s private property account.

(2) The Executive—

(a) may invest money—

(i) held in any patient’s private property account—

(I) unless otherwise directed in writing by the account holder, or

(II) unless otherwise directed in writing by a next friend appointed by a court,

and

(ii) with such financial institutions as are authorised by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority established by section 33B of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 ,

(b) may use money held in any patient’s private property account for the benefit of the account holder—

(i) unless otherwise directed in writing by the account holder, or

(ii) unless otherwise directed in writing by a next friend appointed by a court,

or

(c) may, in respect of the patients’ private property accounts of all or some of the account holders residing in the same hospital or other institution, make an application, not more than once in each calendar year, to a judge of the Circuit Court in whose circuit the hospital or other institution, as the case may be, is situated, for directions as to how the Executive may use any money in excess of €5,000 or the amount prescribed in regulations made under section 20 (1)(c), whichever is the greater, in any of those accounts for the benefit of the account holder in whose patient’s private property account the excess is lodged.

(3) Where a prescribed repayment to be made—

(a) is in respect of a living relevant person and arises from an application made by an applicant falling within paragraph (a) of the definition of “connected person”, then the Executive shall, subject to any directions under subsection (7) to the contrary, only pay the prescribed repayment into an account (which may be a patient’s private property account) of the relevant person,

(b) is in respect of a living relevant person the subject of a certificate falling within section 4 (4)(b)(ii)(II), then the Executive shall, subject to any directions under subsection (7) to the contrary, only pay the prescribed repayment into the relevant person’s patient’s private property account.

(4) The Executive shall not make an application referred to in subsection (2)(c) until after it has—

(a) given notice in writing of its intention to make such an application to the account holders to whom the application relates, and

(b) published a notice of its intention to make such an application in at least one daily newspaper circulating in the State.

(5) A judge of the Circuit Court shall determine an application under subsection (2)(c) by giving such directions as the judge considers in the best interests of the account holders to whom the application relates.

(6) Where subsection (3) applies to a prescribed repayment, then the Executive or any other interested person may make an application to a judge of the Circuit Court in whose circuit the relevant person to whom the prescribed repayment relates is residing for the prescribed repayment to be made otherwise than as specified in that subsection.

(7) A judge of the Circuit Court shall determine an application under subsection (6) by giving such directions as the judge considers in the best interests of the relevant person to whom the application relates, including a direction that the Executive pay the prescribed repayment to which the application relates into such account, or to such person, as is specified in the direction.

(8) The Executive shall not pay a prescribed repayment directly to a living spouse or living child of a relevant person except in so far as the spouse or child, as the case may be, has satisfied the Executive that the prescribed repayment relates to an amount referred to in the definition of “recoverable health charge”—

(a) paid by the spouse or child, as the case may be, on behalf of the relevant person, and

(b) by virtue of which the relevant person is a relevant person.

(9) In this section, “account holder”, in relation to a patient’s private property account, means the person for whom the account was established.