Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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2525. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of increasing personal assistance hours by at least 270,000. [44329/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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2526. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of increasing home support by 40,000 hours; and her views on the differences in unit costs between personal assistance and home support hours. [44330/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2525 and 2526 together.

The HSE provides a range of assisted living services including Personal Assistance (PA) and Home Support (HS) Services 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 though a range of voluntary and private service providers.

The average rate for PA and disability home support service delivery is currently €25 per hour. The estimated full-year cost of providing 270,000 additional PA hours at the current rate is €6,750,000. The estimated full-year cost of providing 40,000 additional disability home support hours at the current rate is €1,000,000.

Budget 2025 provided approximately €9m in funding to commence the progressive alignment of the PA and home support hourly rates with Older Persons Services, which is currently €31.47 per hour. When the rates are aligned, the estimated full-year cost of providing 270,000 PA hours would be €8,496,900. The estimated full-year cost of providing 40,000 additional home support hours would be €1,258,800.