Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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31. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the reason that of the national carers strategy's 42 objectives, only one objective has been achieved to date, with 19 showing only initial progress, ten showing no progress and, most worryingly, eight having regressed; whether the 19% cut to the respite care grant in budget 2012 will now be reversed; if the halving of funding for housing grant schemes will be reversed and if the current poor discharge planning and lack of consultation with family carers when their loved one moves from hospital to home care will be addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20774/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The National Carers’ Strategy was published in July 2012 and sets the strategic direction for future policies, services and supports provided by Government Departments and agencies for carers.

It sets out a vision to work towards and an ambitious set of National Goals and Objectives to guide policy development and service delivery to ensure that carers feel valued and supported to manage their caring responsibilities with confidence and are empowered to have a life of their own outside of caring.

The Strategy also contains a Roadmap for Implementation with a suite of actions and associated timelines, and identifies the Government Department responsible for their implementation. It is important to note that the actions in the Roadmap for Implementation are those that can be achieved on a cost neutral basis.

The National Carers' Strategy committed to the production of an Annual Report on progress which would be published on the websites of relevant Departments. The first Annual Report on implementation of the Strategy was published in November 2013 and the second in January 2015, both of which are available on my Department's website. These Annual Reports will provide the Deputy with a list of actions that were identified in the Strategy and what progress has been made on each one since the Strategy’s publication.

While The Carers Association's recently published Family Carers Scorecardraises concerns over the pace of implementation, much work has been done and the report acknowledges achievements such as:

- The development of a single assessment tool for older people containing a detailed Carers Needs Assessment;

- The imminent release of one million euro funding from Dormant accounts for training and information provision for family carers;

- The hosting of an Annual Carers Forum by the Department of Social Protection and in particular the positive engagement around the structure of this forum to meet the needs of family carers.

I acknowledge that the pace of implementation of the Carers' Strategy has been slower than we would have wished. At my Department's request, the HSE has set up a multi-disciplinary working group to bring forward implementation of the health aspects of the Strategy.

With regard to discharge planing, in 2014 the HSE published a guide called 'Integrated Care Guidance: A practical guide to discharge and transfer from hospital'. The guide sets out nine steps for effective discharge planning and transfer from hospital to community healthcare settings. Steps 8 and 9 detail the discharge arrangements and the communication process to include the carers/family and relevant personnel in the community to be communicated with during the discharge process.

In relation to the Respite Care Grant and the Housing Grant Schemes, these are a matter for my colleagues the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Environment and Local Government respectively.