Home Help Service Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2013

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Questions (98)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

98. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify the situation regarding the provision of home help hours in the Health Service Executive Dublin north east area; if the technical adjustment will mean that 400,000 hours will be lost in this region; if he will reassure service users that their service will remain in place and that those who have lost hours in the past 12 months will have them reinstated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13771/13]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

The target for Home Help hours in the HSE National Service Plan 2012 was incorrectly set at 10.7 million hours, due to a data collection error in the Dublin/North East region. The correct original target for 2012 should have been 10.3 million hours, and this is the target now also set for 2013. The error was purely methodological and there was, therefore, no loss of 400,000 hours.

As is the case with all aspects of HSE service plans, the Home Help services are reviewed on a regular basis, in the context of achieving agreed targets or taking account of evolving circumstances over the course of 2013.