Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 24 October 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

End-of-Life Care: Discussion

12:05 pm

Mr. Kevin O'Dwyer:

No; I will clarify that point. I stated that 31% of funding is not statutory but that figure would include a couple of areas. I am linking Blackrock with Harold's Cross and Blanchardstown with Raheny, but of the six providers, three have insured beds, which provides a substantial part of their funding. We also run education courses as part of our remit to deliver the skills needed for general as well as specialist palliative care, and we generate income from that. Perhaps it is not the case for all of us, but certainly in Cork we have had to charge for car parking. We have many sources of money - it is not just from fund-raising, standing on the corner with a bucket. We have been imaginative in how to do this because we have to be, and we have managed to increase our activity over those five years.