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

The rostering arrangements pose a challenge to the HSE. It does not have the IT systems it should have in an ideal world to manage that aspect of it. Putting it in now while we are devising a new scheme will not happen and so they will need to make do with what they have for the remainder of this scheme, which is a year and a half or two years. I want to meet the CHO leaders to hear how they plan to deal with the data capturing element of it and counting the miles. As the Deputy mentioned, a generic approach is currently being taken under which each person receives a couple of hours in mileage irrespective of the mileage they are doing.

The Deputy also asked me about the costs involved. As I outlined, 18 million hours have been funded this year and I expect the HSE to deliver 18 million hours. Any additional costs incurred on travel and so on will need to be funded from alternative sources within the HSE, but not from the 18 million front-line home help hours to be delivered in line with the national service plan agreed with the HSE at the beginning of the year. I expect it to honour that.

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