Ms Frances Spillane:

Deputy Ó Broin asked about funding for home care schemes. The total HSE home care budget in 2018 is €408 million. This includes an increase of €18 million in this allocation. There is, however, unmet need in the area of home care, especially in home care for people who are still living in their own homes. The Department recognises that there is a policy vacuum in the area of home care, particularly when compared with the nursing home care scheme. We are actively working on a plan for a new statutory home care scheme and also for the regulation of home care. The funding available is an administrative scheme. Last autumn both of the Ministers launched a consultation process on the new home care scheme. We received 2,600 submissions in response to a discussion paper. We will publish the results of that consultation in May. This will help us in formulating proposals and so on.

The Deputy also asked about the cost of nursing home care compared with the cost of supported housing. The average cost of nursing home care is about €1,100 per week.