Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not have the details of the work that has been done on them. On the community-based services, to which the Deputy referred, €392 million was allocated to the HSE for 2013 to provide 10.3 million hours of home help service for approximately 50,000 clients, and 10,870 people are in receipt of home care packages, day care and respite services and meals on wheels. Clearly, all these issues have to be considered by the Cabinet in respect of the provision of the budget for health for 2014. The Minister, Deputy Reilly, has had to make some difficult decisions during the past two years in order to turn this structure into one that is more effective and that has meant some difficulties in terms of structural changes but it has resulted in fewer patients on waiting lists, fewer patients on trolleys and fewer personnel delivering front-line services with fewer resources. Shape is being put on a very difficult situation in health and these issues, to which the Deputy referred, will be part of the decision-making process between now and next Tuesday. I will come back to the Deputy on his question regarding assisted human reproduction and stem cell research.

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