Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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474. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons in County Galway who have had their personal assistant hours cut in 2015 and in 2016 to date; the total reduction of personal assistant hours; the steps the Health Service Executive is taking to increase the number of personal assistant hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5643/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to protecting the level of Personal Assistant (PA) services available to people with disabilities. In their 2016 National Service Plan, the Health Service Executive's (HSE) priority is to provide 1.3 million hours of personal assistance to more than 2,000 people with a disability. This is the same activity level that was funded in 2014 and 2015. The HSE has confirmed that in excess of €30 million is spent annually on the provision of PA Services. I have also arranged for the Deputy's question to be referred to the HSE for a more detailed response to be supplied directly to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.