Vol. 497 No. 2
250 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the fact that it is a national policy that the elderly should be retained in their own homes as far as possible; and in this regard, the plans, if any, he has for an additional allocation of funds for home help services for the elderly in the Sligo and Leitrim region. [24808/98]
The underlying principle in relation to the care of older people is to maintain them in their own home for as long as possible and the home help service has a key role in supporting dependent people in their own homes. Following consultations with the chief executive officers of the health boards, my Department commissioned an examination of the future organisation of the home help service in this country by the Policy Research Centre of the National College of Ireland under the direction of the National Council on Ageing and Older People. It is expected that this report will be submitted to me and published shortly.
I accept that the home help service needs to be improved and this is being actively considered in the light of the availability of resources.
