Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 June 2019
166. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health the amount the HSE requested for home help hours; the amount it received for 2019; the amount of the funding which was for extra hours; the amount for mileage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26047/19]
View answerThe HSE National Service Plan 2019 sets out the type and volume of services to be provided by the HSE in 2019. The NSP provides that over €1.8 billion is available to support Older Persons Services this year.
Home supports enable older people to remain in their own homes and communities, as well as facilitating timely discharge from hospital. The Government has made improved access to home support services a priority. This is reflected in the ongoing additional investment made in these services in recent years with the budget growing from €306 million in 2015 to almost €446 million in 2019. That is about a 45% increase in the annual budget for home support.In 2018, the total budget for the service was €416.8 million, providing over 17.5 million hours. In 2019 almost €30 million has been added to the home support budget. The additional funding provided this year recognises additional cost in providing existing levels of service and the provision of additional support hours. This year the HSE intends to provide over 18.2 million home support hours, including intensive home care packages, to over 53,000 people. When one looks at the year-on-year targets, this means that this year’s National Service Plan aims to deliver about 800,000 more hours than the 2018 target.The allocation of funding for home supports, though significant, is finite and services must be delivered within the funding available. The Home Support Service is not demand led and is therefore operated in line with agreed budgetary limits and targets as set out in the HSE National Service Plan.To achieve compliance with its funding allocation, the HSE must ensure that the value of the total number of hours provided does not exceed the budget. This means that the HSE has to manage its service delivery over the course of the year to align with the total funding available. It also has a responsibility to ensure that activity is planned so as to anticipate critical demand pressures, most particularly emergency pressures in the initial and latter parts of the year.
I have asked the HSE to reply directly in relation to the operational aspects of the Deputy’s question.
