Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is working on the legislation on the important issue of oversight. She is examining the HIQA report the Deputy referred to. The Minister of State will engage directly with HIQA on that. She will not fall short in taking the necessary steps to ensure there is a proper system of regulation and standards are upheld at all times.

While I note the points the Deputy has made, we have seen a significant increase in the actual hours provided. The Minister of State has secured an overall budget of €666 million, which is a very significant increase. We want to translate that extra funding into a very significant increase in the number of hours provided. That means identifying people to provide the services. The Minister of State will examine the specific suggestion the Deputy made on community employment scheme participants and what role they might play. We are committed to making further progress on this issue. The new group that has been established by the Minister of State to examine the workforce issues is now the channel through which we can make further progress on this issue and provide people with the services in their homes that they want most and that the Government is very anxious to provide.

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