Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the time constraints and the fact that the clock is ticking. The question the Deputy put down relates to the need for the Minister for Health to improve working conditions for home helps. The Deputy has moved into the broader region and I may be able to deal with that issue in a response to a supplementary question.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. While there will always be a need for long-term residential care for the older people in our society, it is important that those who wish to stay in their own homes and communities are supported and facilitated to do this and for as long as possible. It is also important that we support the return of those who have required acute hospital care to their homes.

In 2015, the HSE will spend €330 million on home care packages and home help services including €185 million to provide 10.3 million home help hours. These services are provided in two ways, either directly by the HSE or by private or voluntary organisations funded by the HSE. Home help services are provided mainly by staff directly employed by the HSE. However, in the greater Dublin area, Wicklow and Clare, home help services are provided by voluntary providers on behalf of the executive. The terms and conditions of home helps have been the subject of detailed consideration. A home help contract introduced for HSE employees in 2014 followed on from a lengthy consultative process on a range of issues that commenced in 2012. The discussions took place between the HSE and the unions under the auspices of both the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. The annualised contract which emanated and was accepted is fundamental to both parties as it matches the actual workforce to the changing needs of the service. It also gives certainty to employees by way of guaranteed weekly minimum paid weekly minimum paid hours. Voluntary providers are funded under section 39 of the Health Act.

The HSE has in place service level agreements with these providers which set out the level of home help service to be provided for the grant to the individual organisation and which contain requirements in respect of standards of care. As the home helps employed by these section 39 organisations are not HSE employees, the HSE does not determine the salaries or other terms and conditions to apply to these staff, including pension arrangements. Accordingly, the arrangements offered by individual providers will vary. The pay and superannuation terms and conditions of the staff concerned are not subject to the control of the Department of Health and they are not classified as public servants. The granting of any pension entitlement in such circumstances is a complex matter. Access for home helps in voluntary organisations to a pension has been the subject of a number of Labour Court recommendations involving SIPTU, IMPACT and the HSE. Implementation of a Labour Court recommendation on payment of a gratuity to the home helps employed by the section 39 organisations has been hindered in recent years by the budgetary situation and is further complicated by the fact that the HSE is not the employer.

I am pleased to confirm that the issue was discussed during the recent Lansdowne Road talks and that the parties reached agreement on a process for giving formal consideration to the matter. The parties agreed to establish, in the short term, a working group to examine a number of issues, including gratuity payments for home helps. This process will now be progressed following the recent ratification of the Lansdowne Road agreement. As Minister of State with responsibility for primary care, I am committed to providing the necessary supports and assistance to allow our growing elderly population to remain in their homes and to provide good working conditions for those who can facilitate this.

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