Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am really delighted that the palliative care unit is in the capital plan for the HSE. Other governments reneged on their promises to the south east and Waterford in this respect. The fundraisers and activists behind this issue are glad to see a finishing line.

In respect of life-limiting illnesses, the Minister of State is absolutely right that this is not just a once-off but can be an ongoing service throughout a person's life to improve quality of life. It is in a patient's interest to be kept at home as long as possible. The home care team does incredible work, which I have seen at first hand. The local fundraisers have to subsidise the home care packages because we get so little funding vis-à-visthe rest of the country, but that money could be diverted into the bricks and mortar of the hospice building. The local HSE has been very good and has a really good working relationship with the hospice. The end result will not just be a hospice unit on the grounds of University Hospital Waterford but a five storey building integrated into the plan for the hospital which will be an incredible facility for the people of Waterford and the south east. In the interim, however, the home care services are very poorly funded vis-à-visthe rest of the country.

I would like the Minister of State to ask the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, why that is the case. This region has a population of approximately 500,000. Between 33% and 40% of the funding is being provided by the HSE. I understand that in other regions of the country, the salaries of the wonderful nurses who go into people's homes to provide such great care are paid for by the HSE, rather than from the buckets of fund-raisers.

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