Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. She referred to a particular case.I believe that it would be inappropriate to discuss an individual's circumstances in public in the Seanad. I appreciate this is a distressing time for the individual. However, I have been advised that the HSE is working closely with the family and that a range of resources is needed which are difficult to source.

The HSE has operational responsibility for planning, managing and delivering home and other community-based services for older people. In addition to the mainstream home help service, which offers support for personal care and help with domestic chores, enhanced home care is provided through home care packages. All those applying for home care are assessed and provided with a service, if appropriate, as soon as possible having regard to their assessed needs and availability of resources. Priority is given to people due to be discharged from acute hospitals who are in a position to return home with supports. However, the resources available for home care services, while significant, are limited and, with the increase in our elderly population, demand is growing year on year. In budget 2018, a further €37 million has been made available for older people's services, comprising €5 million in funding in 2017 and €32 million next year, to further strengthen supports for older people, particularly to facilitate speedier discharge from acute hospitals over the winter period. A significant proportion of this additional funding will go towards home care services. There will always be a cohort of people for whom residential nursing home care provides the best option to meet their health care needs. The nursing homes support scheme continues to be the main pathway through which most people enter residential care. The scheme will continue to be a key support ensuring that older people have access to high-quality care in a location of their choosing. Improving home care services in order that people can live with confidence, dignity and security in their own homes for as long as possible is a key commitment of the Government. Home supports are crucial to helping older people, and indeed people of all ages, with particular care needs to remain where they want to be, at home in the surroundings with which they are most familiar and comfortable. The Government is planning to establish a new statutory home care scheme and a system of regulation for home care services. The Department is currently engaged in a detailed process to progress these issues. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and I launched a public consultation process on the financing and regulation of home care in July of this year. The public consultation is just the start of the broader process of engagement by the Department with interested individuals, groups and service providers on the future of home care. The Government is committed to progressing the development of a regulatory and funding model for home care services as quickly as possible, though I should point out that it is a complex undertaking and will require a significant amount of detailed preparation.