Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ba mhaith liom an tacaíocht atá ar fáil ina dtithe féin do seandaoine agus daoine tinn a phlé. Is cúis imní í an cheist seo do mór-chuid daoine i Chontae Dhún na nGall. Tá ganntanas uaireanna home help ar fáil faoi láthair. Níl an tseirbhís sin ag leathnú amach mar a bhí sé san am atá thart. Tá daoine ag cailleadh uaireanna, pá agus postanna de bharr sin.

The issue I wish to raise is the reduction and withdrawal of some of home help services in County Donegal. We have heard many times from the Government that it protects the old and vulnerable but the truth from what I am hearing on the ground in County Donegal is that this is not the case. I have heard this from different individuals, from people who provide home help services, from those who are losing the service and from the daughters and sons of parents who are old and frail and need the support and the type of care that has been provided in the past.

Home help hours are being reduced or services are being discontinued. In a case of an elderly person who cannot get out of bed the hour and half of personal care that person was being given has been reduced to 20 minutes. In other cases the home help service has been discontinued at the weekend. The laundry service provided the HSE in the Manorcunningham area of County Donegal, an example of other services provided, has not been in operation since November last year and the HSE has cited that it cannot find a replacement for the person who used to provide the service.

The unions are fearful that the home help service is being run down by the Government and the HSE and that this service is in the process of being privatised. The unions in the county cannot arrange a meeting with the HSE for a number of months yet. There is serious concern about the continued provision of this service. All those issues are important in terms of meetings and how they will be resolved, but behind all of that are people who need the support and help of those who provide this service.

In the case of some people nobody calls to them except the woman or the man who provides the home help service. Many of these carers continue to provide the service in a voluntary capacity. We have debated in this Chamber the importance of volunteerism. However, we cannot ignore the fact that people need to be paid and a proper service needs to be put in place, namely the home help service, and home help hours need to be retained.

When the unfortunate situation arises that a person passes away, even though there are people waiting for and deserving of the home help service, the people who provide that service are not being given new clients. There is a fear this service is being whittled away and downgraded and that it will be discontinued and the service will be privatised in the future.

I ask the Minister of State to clarify the position of the Minister for Health and Children on the provision of this service. I am sure what I said is not unique to County Donegal but I can only speak about the real life experiences relayed to me by the elderly people concerned, their carers and families.