Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt the Minister of State's commitment. I want to highlight the issues to get better delivery. The issues I am speaking about involve both the HSE and private companies. The HSE is ultimately responsible. I am concerned that there is no follow through to ensure there is a delivery of service. That is the problem. We cannot have accountability without that follow through. If people are aware that they are accountable for having a service delivered and checks and balances are carried out to ensure the end user is getting the service that was awarded, it is only then we can ensure an improvement. The only person who is important and relevant here is the end user. We will not have an improvement if people believe there is no consequence for inaction and that the issue can simply be fudged. That is the problem. All the cases I highlighted to the Minister of State are individual cases where there are problems with the delivery of service, including with the assessment and with appropriate home care packages being put in place, agreement among the clinical and medical people, and the delivery of that service. In the programme for Government it was identified that this is an area the Minister of State wants to improve

Despite the additional funding in several cases it has not improved over the past six to 12 months.

The Minister of State might need to consider the direct funding model if there is a problem in delivering the service and the family or end user is suffering. They may need direct funding to put the service in place that best suits the needs of their loved one, their time and flexibility. That works well in other places. The end user needs to be listened to because it is not a case of one size fits all.

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