James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I restate for the information of the House that the budget for 2012 will be restored for 2013. Given that the circumstances in individual cases change as needs change, it would be inappropriate to state that the hours of every individual will remain the same next year. As circumstances change, some people will need more hours while others will need fewer hours. In terms of home care packages, which are different from home help, it was always the intention to change and rotate them. The classic case is that of a 70 year old gentleman who is discharged from hospital following a hip replacement operation. If his wife has arthritis and finds it difficult to look after him in the early stages, the gentleman will have a nurse visiting as well as physiotherapy and home help. As he makes progress and starts to use one instead of two crutches, the nurse may no longer be needed and after four or five weeks, he will no longer need a physiotherapist and the home help hours can be reduced. The nature of home care is to provide a service to patients at the right time and in the right place and monitor their progress or, in some cases, deterioration.

It is our intention to restore the budget and while I am pleased this will be the case, it does not mean I will not seek greater efficiencies from or look long and hard at the budget. I have asked the Health Service Executive to examine the reason for an apparent differential between the payments made to some private providers and those made to public providers.

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