Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not have the details of the case Deputy Martin has raised. I would assume that if any child is in a fit medical condition to be allowed home, he or she will be. If, as Deputy Martin said, this little child requires an exceptional level of attention, I do not think that can be classed as what the Deputy called a basic level.

Clearly, if the child is to go home, there is a duty to ensure that the package of care surrounding any child released in those circumstances is fully effective in the interests of the health of that child. I do not know if, in the context of the home care package, the problem is that there is, according to what Deputy Martin heard the child's mother say, an element of professionalism or expertise lacking in it or if it is a question of the money surrounding it. I do not have an answer to that question but I will get it for the Deputy. No parent should feel that his or her child cannot be sent home because of an issue surrounding the extent or quality of a home care package. It is an issue that I will follow up on.

In regard to Deputy Martin's comments on the health services in general, the Health Service Executive has forwarded its draft plan in respect of the delivery of services in 2014 to the Minister for Health. The Minister is currently examining the plan and has a specific length of time in which to amend or approve it. The impact of the health service plan must be the protection of front-line services and the personnel who deliver them. Patient care must and will be the central tenet of that plan. The Minister for Health will make his recommendations on the draft plan as submitted and will then bring it to the attention of the House. The fundamental issue is the quality of service delivered by professionals on the front line. Any adjustment in allocation must in the first instance ensure protection of those services. This is where the emphasis of the Minister will be.

I will follow up on the case raised by the Deputy.

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