Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Michael Moynihan for raising this issue. Members of the House will appreciate the importance of community-based care. Yesterday, an announcement was made concerning additional funding for the health service which, significantly, includes additional provision for home help hours. It is also important to bear in mind, as the Deputy has recognised, that the programme for Government contains a commitment to increase home help hours every year. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, will shortly publish the demographic impact on spending in each area. No doubt the demographic impact on health will include provision, built into the 2017 no-policy-change budget, to deal with the demographic pressures to which the Deputy has referred.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach adverted to the fact that currently there is a 4% annual increase in the number of people over 85. That clearly creates pressure on areas such as the home help service. As regards having uniformity across the country, home help has always been organised on a decentralised model. Part of its strength is that local home help organisers understand their community. It has, therefore, been organised in a way that seeks to respond flexibly to local needs. That balance between uniform provision, national planning, diversity and division is part of the service's strength. It is not something we would want to let go of lightly.

The Deputy mentioned delays in issuing the carer's allowance, which has been a problem for as long as I have been in politics. It concerns the complexity of the assessment methods which the Oireachtas has put in place.

It requires capital and income assessments as well as a medical assessment. That has been put in place, in the wisdom of the Oireachtas, as a fair way of allocating it, but it does create delays in assessment, which are inevitable with that type of approach. There is also the carer's benefit for people who are at work and decide to take a break to provide care. That can be a bridge because it is based on stamps and does not require the same detailed assessment.

I will alert the Minister for Health to the Deputy's concerns. The Minister for Social Protection has responsibility for carer's allowance, but I will alert the Minister for Health about the continuing problems the Deputy mentioned with medical card delays. I have experienced some improvement in that regard. Members of the last Dáil travelled out there to see that improved processes were put in place.

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