Pensioners in residential institutions are likely to again face fees for their care after they were halted last week when it emerged the legal basis for the charges was unsound.
The fees were halted last week after it was confirmed that legislation passed in 2001 extending medical cards to over-70s meant they were entitled to free residential care.
This afternoon, though, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Ms Harney, hurriedly got approval from Cabinet for the text of a Bill to regularise the situation.
Health Boards had been charging for the costs of shelter and maintenance in both public and private institutions. Fine Gael had long argued the charge was illegal and following the advice of the Attorney General Mr Rory Brady, Ms Harney halted the charges.
Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny last week said the Government should refund over €100 million collected since 2001.
And this evening, he said the Tánaiste should make public the Department's analysis of how many people were incorrectly charged.
"There still remains the question of why the Department of Health failed to act sooner on the information they had to hand regarding the flawed legal basis on which these pensioner's charges were being levied.
This information was available to the Department more than two years ago but nothing was done until Fine Gael pressed the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste repeatedly on the matter in the Dáil," Mr Kenny said.
He also welcomed the plan to "pay some measure of recompense to those illegally charged".
The Cabinet this afternoon also approved a payment of up to €2,000 to those currently in long stay institutions.
Those eligible include patients in mental hospitals, long stay units for aged and residential units for those with both an intellectual and/or physical disability.
Work on finalising the application process has not finished and is expected to continue into the new year.