Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has conceded that he “must have been briefed” about the legal strategy on nursing home charges but insisted that he “would have agreed” to sign off on it if he had been asked.
The Fine Gael leader insisted that the story has been “misrepresented” and that it “would not have been a case of [people] just going to the nursing home of their choice and then asking the Government to pick up the bill”.
There have been allegations in recent days that some people were “illegally charged” for nursing home stays. In 1970, it was decided that people with medical cards were entitled to free nursing home stays. However, some medical cardholders were placed in private homes due to capacity constraints and paid for care.
