Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy Daly for raising this important issue and for giving me the opportunity to respond to some of the points he has raised in regard to the importance of home help provision in our community. I begin by agreeing with the point he makes that the role of the Minister for Health is not just to be a Minister for acute hospitals but to be a Minister who examines the continuum of care from primary care to acute care to social care, because one leads to the other. The worst thing that can happen in the HSE and the Department of Health is the creation of a silo mentality, or an attitude in which it is one part of the health service versus the other, because, as the Deputy has outlined very articulately, one leads to another.

Older people have consistently said to all of us in the House and to many others that they want to stay in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. The Government is committed to facilitating this. Home care services are key to achieving this and the strengthening of home care services is an absolute objective to which this new Government is committed. The Health Service Executive provides significant levels of home support and will spend in the region of €324 millionthis year on these services.

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The HSE's national service plan for 2016 provides for a target of 10.4 million home help hours to support approximately 47,800 people. It also provides for 15,450 home care packages and 130 intensive home care packages for clients with complex needs. A further 60 clients with dementia will be supported with co-funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies under the national dementia strategy. The service levels of 2015 are being maintained this year. I make this point because I have heard misleading comments, not from the Deputy but from others, on home help cuts. Service levels are being maintained this year and there has been no reduction in the resources available for home supports in 2016 compared to 2015. However, prudent management of available resources is needed as demand for services increases. The HSE is working to apply available resources to target most effectively those with the greatest need and to provide the best possible contribution to the service as a whole. Services are being stretched by demands from more people and for more hours at times outside core hours in the evenings and at weekends, as outlined by the Deputy, all of which cost more. Decisions on resource allocations are made and reviewed by front-line staff who are familiar with a client's individual needs and circumstances. All relevant factors are carefully balanced in order that as many people as possible can viably stay at home and enjoy the best possible quality of life. Those who cannot be provided with a service immediately are risk-assessed and placed on a waiting list for resources as they become available. The latest information available to me is that the current waiting time is between two and four weeks.

Notwithstanding the significant improvements in the overall economic position that we have seen in recent years, pressures continue to apply across the health service. There is no doubt that home care services need more resources than are available. For this reason the programme for Government commits to increasing funding for home help and home care packages, year on year, in the coming period. This is a commitment I wish to fulfil in ensuring additional resources for home help and home care packages in the next budget. In the meantime, I assure the Deputy that I am maintaining close liaison with the HSE on home care services and the implications for them. This is an issue which will continue to receive attention from me.

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