Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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2420. To ask the Minister for Health if she will examine the top-class home care palliative care package provided in the UK and strive to bring it up to the same standards in Ireland (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20798/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The government is committed to support people living with a life-limiting illness to live as well as they can.

There are 32 community specialist palliative care teams covering all 26 counties. The community specialist palliative care teams work in close partnership with GP’s and primary care teams. They provide expert palliative care to both adults and children in all community settings including nursing homes.

In 2024, community palliative care teams provided care to an average of 4,314 patients each month in their own homes. This was a 10.5% increase from 2023 (3,905) and reflects the increased demand for palliative care services in the community. Between 2022 and 2025, an additional 35 clinical nurse specialists in palliative care posts have been allocated to services across the country. This is to meet rising demand and to extend out of hours services to 7 days a week.

In partnership with the Irish Cancer Society and Irish Hospice Foundation, the HSE also delivers Night Nursing care to patients receiving specialist palliative care. The service enables people to die at home and provides respite to carers during end-of-life care. In 2024, 2,674 patients received Night Nursing care in their own homes, utilising an average of three nights of care per patient. This amounts to a total of 9,170 nights of specialist end-of-life care. 14 nights are available under the Night Nursing program at end of life; however, if a patient or family require more than this, it can be granted based on the clinical assessment and availability of nurses.

In 2025, the Department of Health will provide €1.9 million to the Irish Cancer Society and Irish Hospice Foundation to support delivery of the Night Nursing service. An evaluation of the Night Nursing service is currently being carried out with a view to further strengthening the service and ensuring it has the capacity to meet future demand.

One of the actions for the HSE in the National Adult Palliative Care Policy (2024) is to conduct a review of out-of-hours home based palliative care and to provide an option appraisal of suitable arrangements for future service provision. The HSE will be exploring international models of out of hours service provision including the UK as part of this review which is expected to begin in 2025.

As part of the Programme for Government, we will continue to invest in palliative care to achieve full national coverage of hospice and community services. We will also continue to fund our National Adult Palliative Care Policy. The total national palliative care budget for 2025 is over €184 million – a 15% increase on 2024 and a 50% increase on 2020. The government will continue to prioritise our palliative care services, working towards the highest possible quality of end-of-life care and support for people with life limiting illnesses across the country.