Health boards have repaid almost €1 million in arrears in nursing home subventions, the Minister for Health told the House.
Mr Martin said that about €900,000 had been paid out, and it was not possible to give a total figure, because some boards had not yet completed their calculations.
"However, I can assure the House that my Department is continuing to pursue this matter with the health boards concerned to ensure that every effort will be made to pay all outstanding arrears as soon as possible."
Mr Martin recalled the instruction from his Department to the relevant boards to take immediate steps to pay all outstanding arrears.
The current position, he understood, was that health boards had made retrospective payments relating to persons currently resident in nursing homes. He understood that some boards had also paid arrears relating to former subvention recipients now deceased and those no longer resident in nursing homes.
The Minister was replying to the Fine Gael spokesman on health, Mr Gay Mitchell, who said the least the elderly could expect was that they would be looked after in old age.
Mr Mitchell moved a motion, in private members' time, condemning the "the prolonged and systematic improper extraction by health boards of money from vulnerable old people in need of nursing home care and from their families".
"The Act . . . allowed nursing home residents to have a one-fifth of their old age pension disregarded and not treated as means. This would be their `pocket money'.
"These provisions were deliberately and systematically undermined by the health boards and the Department of Health."
The Labour spokesman on old people's issues, Mr Sean Ryan, said the concept of a right or an entitlement to State assistance did not exist in practice.
Mr Martin said that the subvention regulations were amended from January 1st, 1999, and the provision to assess the capacity of adult sons and/or daughters to contribute towards the cost of nursing home care of their patient was deleted.