Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1814.To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the details of the progress made by working groups on personal assistance and home support to define personal assistance and home care services, develop policy, eligibility and prioritisation criteria, and examine the appropriate standards and form of regulatory oversight in the light of the work underway on regulating the statutory home care scheme, as outlined in the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32204/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE provides a range of assisted living services including Personal Assistant (PA) and Home Support Services (HSS) to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives.

PA and Home Support Services are provided either directly by the HSE or indirectly through a range of voluntary and private service providers. The majority of specialised disability provision (80%) is delivered through non-statutory sector service providers.

Home support services are provided to both children and adults with a wide range of disabilities from physical and sensory disabilities to intellectual disabilities and autism. The home support service for children with disabilities assists the child with various activities and supports the parent/family. Over 3 million home support hours are delivered to almost 7,200 people annually.

My Department has been coordinating with the Department of Health on the Home Support Regulations with a view to ensuring that the regulations are fit for purpose for disability home support services funded by my Department.

PA services provide one-to-one support to people with physical disabilities in their homes and communities by trained, professional Personal Assistants. The PA service facilitates a person’s independence, improves their quality of life, and supports them to participate in their local community. A PA support can range from a few hours a week to daily assistance. A vital element of this personalised support is the full involvement of the individual in planning and agreeing the type, times when support is provided to them and choosing the best way to use their allocated PA hours, to enable them to achieve maximum control over their life by tailoring their service to meet their unique support requirements. In 2024, 80,000 additional hours have been funded, bringing delivery to approx. 1.77m PA hours supporting over 2,600 adults across the country.

A Personal Assistance (PA) Review Group has been established by the HSE. The purpose of the PA Review Group is to develop a protocol for the eligibility and allocation of personal assistance services based on a universally agreed definition, in collaboration with my Department, people with disabilities and providers.

As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.