Mr. John Dunne:

The reality is that there are recognised qualifications for care workers around Europe and it is still within the framework here that people are required to work towards this qualification and they are required to have two modules of it but that is after ten years of initially saying we would all have this qualification by 2012. We have been rowing back on that requirement.

I refer to home care packages for under 65s. The reason for the problem is that home care packages are effectively part of the older persons part of the HSE. They can be awarded outside of that but it is an awkward case. When the Deputy said it can take six to eight weeks I was thinking that was fast as opposed to slow but then she mentioned the magic word of "approval." It is not unusual for someone to get a letter saying he or she has been approved for a home care package and that he or she will get further correspondence when it is possible to provide such a package.