A number of residents with disabilities at a Co Kerry centre were charged for the full cost of specialised chairs while another was charged more than €2,000 for an aid they were obliged to use every day, according to the Health Information and Quality Authority.
Residents were also charged for fire-proofing curtains and for medical appointments, items which the watchdog expected would be covered by the service provider or by accessing public health services.
The HIQA inspection report states that at the time of the unannounced inspection last January, 31 residents were living in Unit One at Saint John of God Kerry Services' Beaufort Campus, in Parkside outside Killarney.
Inspectors found that residents paid for a variety of basic items which it was expected the service provider or the public health services would underwrite, such as replacement parts for equipment and fuel for vehicles.
Each resident held a financial passport which recorded that he or she must pay for personal care items, clothing, social activities and foot care.
But no reference was made to them buying for furnishings or fuel and other items that would ordinarily be paid by the St John of God Kerry Services.
Inspectors found that between 2013 and 2016 a number of residents had been charged for the cost of specialised chairs while another was charged more than €2,000 for an aid that was used daily.
The report notes that, at the time of inspection, that organisation was "in the process of finding out the extent of the inappropriate charges".
Inspectors were informed that inappropriate charges would be refunded to residents.
They also discovered that residents were regularly referred to private dieticians without a full exploration of their entitlement to the service through the public health system.
It was also a regular practice for residents to pay in the region of €200 to €300 for the fire-proofing of curtains despite HIQA's expectation that the service provider would cover this expense.
