Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Nov 1999

Vol. 509 No. 6

Written Answers. - Services for the Elderly.

Bernard Allen

Question:

364 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the finance, if any, that will be made available to the individual health boards to implement their action plans for services for older people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21543/99]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Dr. Moffatt)

The financial allocations to the health boards for the coming year have not yet been finalised. An additional £25 million was provided in 1999 to continue the development of services for older people. This included additional funding for assisting older people in meeting the costs of nursing home care, together with extra resources for the development of the home help service, support for carers, the provision of new extended care services, improvements to existing services and recruitment of additional physicians in the medicine of old age. The additional funding allocated to each health board for the above developments is as follows:

Eastern Health Board	£6.235 million
Midland Health Board	£1.145 million
Mid-Western Health Board	£1.650 million
North-Eastern Health Board	£2.252 million
North-Western Health Board	£1.457 million
South-Eastern Health Board	£2.133 million
Southern Health Board	£4.520 million
Western Health Board	£1.438 million

The remainder of the £25 million funding was allocated towards the cost of developing specialist services for the elderly mentally ill and infirm as well as increasing the income guidelines for eligibility for medical cards for people over 70 years of age, from 1 March 1999. The National Council on Ageing and Older People was supported in its work on overseeing the 1999 United Nations International Year of Older Persons. Other smaller scale projects in a number of hospitals were also covered by this fund.