Rescue the bankers, but let pensioners wait

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has argued that the huge sums involved in the nursing home deductions issue necessitated a statute of limitations and a spread of repayments over some years.

These illegal deductions are estimated at €1 billion.

I wish to remind the minister, the Government and all opposition deputies that there was no difficulty in producing overnight, in equivalent terms, a sum in excess of that to rescue a bank that made a bad investment on an insurance scheme. That rescued about 12 directors of that bank.