My Department has engaged with relevant stakeholders, including representative organisations and public bodies, in an effort to see how best to provide a financial support to persons with long-term incontinence with respect to the disposal of medical incontinence wear. One of the difficulties associated with efforts to deliver a support to date has been trying to accurately estimate the number of persons in need of the support. Stakeholders, including the HSE, agree that it is not possible at present to determine a precise figure.
While there are many different complex issues at play in this area, which are understandable given the sensitive nature of the medical data in question, my Department is continuing to examine options to address this issue.