Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for tabling this matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Daly.

The Government's core objective is to promote care in the community in order that people can continue to live with confidence, security and dignity in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. A wide range of services are provided, including home supports, day care and residential care through direct service provision and voluntary and private providers.

Improving access to home care support is a priority for the Government. Over the past four years, there has been a considerable increase of nearly €140 million in the budget from €306 million in 2015 to almost €446 million in 2019. More than 53,000 people will receive in excess of 18 million home care support hours this year, including intensive home care packages for approximately 235 people. Despite this significant service provision, the demand for home care support continues to increase. The allocation of funding for home supports across the system though significant is finite and services must be delivered within the funding available.Preliminary data indicate that during the first quarter of the year, 4.2 million hours were delivered nationally, 4,411 new clients commenced the service, and 6,238 people have been assessed and are waiting for either new or additional home care support services.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, acknowledges that in some cases access to the service may take longer than we would like. However, the HSE has assured the Department that those on a waiting list are reviewed when funding becomes available. This is to ensure that individual cases continue to be dealt with on a priority basis within the available resources and as determined by the local front-line staff. The local staff know and understand the clients’ needs and undertake regular reviews of those care needs to ensure that the services being provided remain appropriate.

The number of people waiting for funding for home care support services reflects a point in time. While the existing home support service is delivering crucial support to many people throughout the country, it is acknowledged that the service and access to it needs to be improved to better meet the changing needs of our citizens. That is why we intend to establish a statutory scheme for home support services which will improve access to the service on an affordable and sustainable basis while also introducing a system of regulation that will ensure public confidence. I will come back on some of the issues later.