Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter, which relates to the withdrawal of respite care from patients in the Cherry Orchard Hospital in Ballyfermot, which is a very retrograde step. A number of constituents have contacted me on the matter. The rollover respite is being cut from May. The 24 places that were available will be cut back to 12. There is a fear that the other respite that is available might also be cut. Everything about this flies in the face of common sense. If respite is not available a number of elderly people will end up in accident and emergency units and ultimately in acute beds in hospitals thereby taking up more valuable space and time. As it is, families and carers are just about able to manage. To a certain extent their sanity depends on the availability of this respite. One of my constituents cares for her 84 year old mother who has Alzheimer's disease. She said it is like minding a baby 24 hours a day seven days a week. The only break she gets is through the respite that is available.

In 2007 the Cherry Orchard Hospital opened two new respite wards which were very welcome. However, that facility has now been cut in half which flies in the face of common sense. This facility that had been expanded with all the capital expense of providing additional beds and now it does not have the backup to provide the respite. I have written to the general manager and received a reply indicating that it would review it based on budgetary concerns etc. The budget should be made available to provide this service for the patients in Cherry Orchard. In addition to the cutting of the respite beds, which is the primary concern, home help is also being cut so it is a double whammy and people are being hit twice. I ask the Minister to review the situation regarding the Cherry Orchard Hospital.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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In my constituency the same issue has arisen because some of my constituents also avail of respite care in Cherry Orchard Hospital. For example, a constituent contacted me regarding his 91 year old father, who lives with the family of one of his children and is cared for on a full-time basis. He is extremely feeble and needs full-time care. Members of the family need to carry him up and down the stairs each day. The one lifesaver for the family has been that every few weeks they get a few days respite care in Cherry Orchard Hospital. They recently got a phone call from the HSE advising that this service would be discontinued from the end of May until there is a change regarding the budget.

A recent report in The Irish Times indicated that 24 families are similarly affected. As Deputy Upton has said the people affected by this have very high needs and are extremely vulnerable. They could end up in long-term hospital care if something goes wrong. It is putting severe strain on their families who have other issues to deal with. The family I am talking about has other family members who are sick and the issue is causing them considerable stress. They are willing to care for their parent at home and are saving the State considerable money — probably at least €1,000 per week. This and other cutbacks by the HSE are hitting the most vulnerable people of all. It is vital for the Minister to make alternative arrangements or else ensure the 12 beds in Cherry Orchard Hospital are immediately reopened.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I thank the Deputies for raising the issue as it provides me with an opportunity to reaffirm the Government's commitment to services for older people generally and, in particular, the important area of providing day and respite care.

Government policy on older people is to support people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Where this is not feasible, the health service supports access to quality long-term residential care where this is appropriate. This policy approach is renewed and developed in the latest partnership agreement, Towards 2016.

The Government's objective of continued development of community-based services for older persons is reflected in the funding given to the system in recent times. In the budgets of 2006 and 2007, more than €400 million was provided to enhance service developments across the sector, of which just over €190 million was for community-based services over these two years.

Arising from the budget of 2008, a full-year package of €22 million has been allocated for new services in the area of older people. This gives a total of more than €422 million for new services for older people over the last three years. These measures have been designed to both enhance existing services that the Government had already put in place and to widen the range of services available to older people.

In this context, over €16 million has been provided in the last three years for new day and respite care services. The recent budget will allow an additional 1,245 clients nationally to avail of new respite places and brings the total projected day care provision to approximately 21,300 places by the end of this year.

The HSE is committed, through the national service plan 2008, to delivering services within its Vote provided by the Oireachtas. It will manage the provision of respite care beds at Cherry Orchard within this context, while also recognising the priority the Government and the Executive have given to services for older people.

There is no doubt that demand can at times exceed service resources and that this problem can manifest itself at local level such as the particular pressures being experienced at Cherry Orchard. However, it is a matter for the HSE to deliver services both nationally and locally within its budget and overall health policy priorities. I understand that, in this particular case, the executive will continue to keep the matter under close review.