Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

The point I was making was that the service individuals require can change from time to time and therefore must be flexible. If the Deputy provides me with the precise details, I will certainly follow up the case with the HSE.

To ensure effective prioritisation of the service, assessments are undertaken in the main by locally based public health nurses. They are in the best position to do so. The service is targeted at those persons of high and medium dependency in accordance with their assessed needs.

The HSE is responsible for the operational management of the home help service nationally. It has advised the Department that there are no cutbacks in home help hours and that it is implementing the national roll-out of the additional €30 million allocated to the service for 2006. There is no embargo on the recruitment of staff in the health service.

See this speech in context