Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is exactly what happened. It happened in respect of preventing those who had been illegally charged in nursing homes from going to court, having the matter adjudicated and getting their money back. It also happened in respect of these citizens who, by the way, were entitled to that allowance. It was illegal. It was judged to have been ultra vires, illegal, for the State to deny those people that money. Again, the same strategy was used to keep it quiet, say nothing and not to raise the hare. The worst aspect of it is that government after government, knowing that the State had wronged and denied people things to which they were entitled, colluded and conspired in a strategy to ensure that people could not have their rights vindicated. Where is the compassion in that?

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