Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with what the Deputy said about the winter initiative. I know he wants to prioritise this issue and feels particularly strongly about home help. I will ask the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy McEntee, to speak about this issue. We have funded more home care packages and home help hours in the budget. My strong view is that we need to look at the policy underpinning home help and home care because there is a lack of consistency in this area. I do not know whether my colleagues around this table share that view. Like all politicians, I want people to grow old with dignity in their own homes. However, I am conscious that the only statutory scheme we have to underpin supports for older people is the fair deal scheme, which sends older people into nursing homes. It is not as easy to resolve as I might make it sound with that commentary. Some suggestions have been made. Deputy O'Dea has published a constructive Bill in this regard, but it has a number of limitations and challenges that we need to explore. I would be very interested in engaging with people on a cross-party basis in this regard. I do not think the current model of home care is sustainable unless we look at statutorily underpinning it as we did with the fair deal scheme. Why should the only statutory scheme be the one that involves sending people to nursing homes? Maybe we could discuss that further.

I thank Deputy Kelly for his comments on our world-class national maternity strategy. It is astonishing that we have not had such a strategy up to 2016. I am reassured by the fact that it replicates the model of the national cancer strategy, which got on and did things. As I have already outlined to Deputy O'Connell, an interim director has been appointed to drive the women and children programme within the HSE. The same model was used under the cancer strategy. Obviously, there is funding for the maternity strategy this year and into next year. I will get the figures for the Deputy. As Mr. Woods has already made clear, some 100 midwifery posts have already been filled as part of the driving on of this strategy.