Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing my matter be raised on the Adjournment this evening. I want to raise three points about the home help service in Ballyfermot and Inchicore, namely, the importance of the service to the local community, the effects of the proposed cuts on the elderly and the status of the employees, which is very unclear. None of them know where they stand regarding their employment. What will the forthcoming review of the service mean? What will the cuts mean, especially for the elderly, and for the many people in home help services who care for the elderly?

There has been major confusion among elderly people and the home help staff in Inchicore and Ballyfermot during the past few weeks. There is continuing concern about the cuts in the service and the effect they will have on local communities. A letter addressed to the clients and staff of the services was issued by the home help service on 26 March stating that due to the cuts in funding imposed by the Health Service Executive, cuts would be made to the service on 6 April. Naturally, that caused huge upset, confusion and concern. Although the statement in this letter was later retracted, doubts remain over the service and its continued support through the HSE.

I am concerned that the cuts to the service will mean a reduction in home help hours and services for elderly people who rely greatly on their home helps. This service is invaluable for our elderly. From a daily home-based task to providing simple companionship for a person who is on his or her own, home helps are a real lifeline to the many elderly in our community. If their hours are cut, many vulnerable elderly people will be left alone and will unable to do simple tasks for themselves such as washing, ironing or even making a cup of tea or taking their medication. I know this from my experience of caring for my mother when she was very ill and the daily tasks I did to help her through her daily life.

Workers in home help services are hard-working and work more than their allocated hours; on many occasions they return to check on many elderly people. They often call to see the elderly people for whom they care in their free time to check that they are okay. In many cases they have formed a real bond and this becomes a companionship. Many lonely people find it a great help to have such company in the evening time.

Home helps are not very well paid, as we all know, and they save the State money in the long run. Hospitals in this city are overcrowded. If home help hours are cut, many elderly people will have to leave their homes and communities and move to hospitals and nursing homes that are already overcrowded. Is this really what we want? With a little help, many elderly people can live a full life in the comfort of their own homes. In this way they retain their independence and feel happy and secure in their familiar surroundings.

More than 60 people are on the waiting list for a home help in Inchicore alone. It does not make sense to anyone to cut this service, least of all for those people who are on the waiting list for a home help. Home helps find themselves in a state of limbo. On one hand, they are being told they work in a limited company, however, they recently had take a take a pay cut, and thus have had to pay for their gains under benchmarking, which indicates they are considered public sector workers. If the service is funded by the HSE, why can the Minister of State not confirm by whom home helps are employed? Some people have been working in this service for 30 years and yet they do not have a contract or benefits. An arrangement was signed by the HSE in 2007 but to date the employees have not received a contract. They have heard that the service is to be privatised and understandably they are very concerned about this.

I ask the Minister of State to clarify what will happen to the home help service in Inchicore and Ballyfermot and to its clients and staff. We need to reassure the many elderly people living in Inchicore and Ballyfermot that they are not just a number but that they are cared for. Not everyone can be a home help. It takes a very special kind of person to be one, somebody who cares, understands and, above all, takes the time to sit and listen to the many elderly people in our communities on a daily basis.

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