Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this matter. He will be aware the ESRI health capacity review on future capacity for care for older people is the third in a series of capacity reviews on Ireland's health services, following reports on public acute hospitals and general practitioner services. The ESRI will publish further analysis later this year. I note the points that the Deputy raises in the other matters he highlighted. The ESRI report provides an evidence base that is crucial for future planning and ensuring we provide the right health and social care services in the right place for our older population.

The ESRI report deals with both long-term and short-stay beds, which I acknowledge. It deals with home care too. There has been significant investment by the Government in home care hours. They have gone up by 70% since 2020. The investment is €838 million compared with €400 million. There is a significant commitment by the Government to home care. At the moment, we are working on development of statutory home care. The first step in that is for home care providers legislation, which I am progressing.

As part of the ongoing collaboration between the ESRI and the Department of Health, the commission is building a demand and capacity modelling capability for our modern health service. I have already stated that demand for health and social care services is increasing as our population increases and ages. Older groups tend to use healthcare services more frequently and for a longer duration. I reiterate that we are making progress in increasing residential care capacity for the older population. In response to future capacity requirements, the commitment to building more nursing home beds is an absolute priority for Government. In this context, the Department of Health and the HSE are developing a new public long-term residential care capacity plan, which will be published this year.

It is something I am very committed to. As I mentioned, the Government has established an independent Commission on Care for Older People. The commissioner is charged with examining the condition of health and social care services and supports for older people including residential care and will make recommendations to the Government for their strategic development. I very much look forward to the first report from the commission, which will be published in the coming months under the chair of Professor Alan Barrett. It is doing a considerable body of work.

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