Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask that the HSE in CHO area 2 is made to answer public representatives who contact them in a timely manner. I do not think six to eight weeks is satisfactory, especially when there is still no answer for people. It is wrong. How will this be addressed? If we have people in a district hospital step-down facility or in an acute facility in Mayo general hospital, how much more is it costing the State? How will this be addressed? I do not think what the Minister of State has said addressed it. Is the idea that when somebody dies people on the waiting list will take over that person's hours? In the case of Mayo an awful lot of the clients and people who have been approved are older people. I understand people other than older people require home care packages.People in recovery from conditions, illnesses or accidents may also need this help. We are pushing these older people into nursing homes at extra expense. I know we have our hospitals, but then we have people on trolleys. Something needs to be done and I think much more digging needs to be done. The HSE would want to pull up its socks and start dealing with public representatives.