Batt O'Keeffe
Question:167 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to allow relatives of elderly persons to carry out duties as home helps in view of the scarcity of same being currently experienced. [26108/02]
Written Answers. - Care of the Elderly.
The home help scheme was introduced in 1972 under a provision of the 1970 Health Act. At that time, the chief executive officers of the health boards took a collective decision not to engage family members and relatives as paid home helps. This was in recognition of the fact that the initiative was not intended to replace the existing informal arrangements whereby family members and relatives provided assistance in the tasks of daily living to many old people living at home. Legally, family members are not debarred from acting as home helps but the practice has been that they provided support to older relatives, without payment. There have, I understand, been some instances where a distant relative, e.g., a cousin, has been employed as a home help but these have been in exceptional circumstances. I again emphasise that the operation of the home help scheme is a matter for the chief executive officers of the health boards. I can understand why they have misgivings about paying relatives and family members to act as home helps but I will bring the Deputy's interest and concern to the attention of the chief executive officer's to ascertain if they feel that any relaxation of the guidelines is warranted.