Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for raising this very important issue. The Government is committed to promoting care in the community for older people so they can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible. Home support is an increasingly important part of the supports the Government offers to older people and will continue to increase in importance into the future, as our ageing population grows. The overall policy intention and provision of services are in line with Sláintecare. The home support service is funded by the Government to deliver a volume of service each year as approved in the HSE national service plan, which is subject to the annual Estimates process.

As is the case for all Government Departments, the 2023 Estimates process involved detailed engagement between the Department and the Department of Health on the overall funding provided to the health sector. As part of budget 2023, the Department of Health made an allocation for the provision of home care support from within the available additional funding to meet the cost pressures being experienced within that area. Beyond this budget 2023 engagement, the Department has had no further engagement with the Department of Health in relation to funding for the new HSE home support tender for 2023. As with other areas of health policy, the Minister for Health has policy responsibility, in the first instance, for the provision of home care support. Within this context, the HSE is responsible for developing the private home care provider tender with engagement from the Department of Health. Therefore, any further queries in relation to the home care service or the status of the tender process should be directed to the Minister for Health in the first instance.

While the Minister for Health has policy responsibility for this area, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform understands that the 2018 tender framework for the provision of home care support services was initially valid for a period of just over two years from September 2018 to 31 December 2020. Since 2020, the HSE has extended the framework a number of times, with corresponding rate increases. The most recent extension of the framework was at the end of 2022, initially to the end of April 2023. This extension increased the rate by 2.5% on tier 1 rates and by 3% on tier 2 rates. The HSE has proposed a further extension of the contract arrangements to Friday, 30 June, to allow time to finalise tender arrangements. No final decisions on the tender content have been reached.

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