Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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800. To ask the Minister for Health his plans in budget 2019 to increase the number of respite beds available for older persons who are dependant on a carer; his further plans to expand the allocation from two weeks to four weeks per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25194/18]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Public residential care facilities are an essential part of our health infrastructure. There are approximately 5,000 long stay and 2,000 short stay public beds across the country. Short stay beds are interchangeable and may be used for respite, rehabilitation or palliative care etc., depending on demand.

The Government is committed to investing in additional capacity and making tangible reforms to our model of healthcare delivery as outlined in the recently published Capacity Review. Programmes to increase capacity are already underway including the on-going Capital Investment Programme 2016-2021 for Community Nursing Units. The National Development Plan provides for an extra 4,500 additional public short-term and long-term beds over the next 10 years. Significant new programmes or projects included in the NDP, including residential beds, reflect the next stage of health sector development.

The level of funding available for the Department of Health in 2019 and the quantum of services to be provided by the HSE will be considered as part of the national Estimates and budgetary process and National Service Planning. There are currently no plans to change the format of the respite service.