Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief. The Deputy has raised a number of issues. We all acknowledge that there is unmet demand in the home care system. There are 10.5 million home help hours in the system this year. We are spending €373 million on it. We would love to double it in the morning if that was possible. However, it cannot be done overnight. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to try to increase that budget. I cannot announce the budget here; I am not in a position to do so.

The argument about private versus public is a slightly different issue introduced by the Deputy. Health care has been provided on a public and private basis in all areas, whether it is in acute care or nursing home care where about 80% of our people are being cared for in private nursing homes. There is no intent on the part of the Department or the Government to privatise home care and the provision of home help hours. In the vast majority of cases, such care is provided by HSE staff. Where possible, it is always done by the HSE. Where we have a shortfall and have to rely on private interests rather than let people go without, we will use the private services. We do not look down our nose at any particular service or consider one to be better than the other. We want to have a statutory regulatory scheme. The consultation is out at the moment to ensure that both public and private services are regulated in full.

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