Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I will deal with the figures, if the Deputy can be as patient as I was. There are a number of reasons there are increasing demands on the home help service, one of which is the demographic fact that approximately 6,000 people are coming into the over-65 bracket every year with a proportionately higher percentage increase in the more dependent over-80 category.

The aim of the home help service is to enable people to remain at home, where appropriate, who would otherwise need to be cared for in residential care. It is recognised that the home help service is an essential support to family and informal carers. The service, by its nature, is a flexible one designed to respond to clients' needs. It is targeted at high and medium-dependency clients in accordance with their assessed need. As a result, the level of service required in individual cases will fluctuate from time to time. I assure the House that this Government is committed to developing the home help service as a community support for older people living in the community.

There seems to be a discrepancy in the figures but I will give the figures I have been given by the HSE south western area.

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