Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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423. To ask the Minister for Health the reason no extra hours were allocated to the personal assistant service for people with a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39365/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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In 2015, the HSE has sought to maximise the provision of health and personal social services, including personal assistant services, for people with a disability, within available resources. In the 2015 HSE National Service Plan, the HSE's priority is to provide 1.3 million hours of personal assistant services to adults with a physical or sensory disability.

Any increases in demand for personal assistant services due to demographic pressures and changing needs must be met within the level of resources available. Work is currently underway in preparing the Health Service Executive's National Service Plan for 2016. As discussions are ongoing in this regard, the Minister for Health is not in a position to comment on the service levels including personal assistant hours in 2016.