Paul Donnelly
Question:787. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health how the €5.2 million allocation on the healthy age-friendly homes programme was spent in 2023. [54756/23]
View answerTuesday, 12 December 2023
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Written answers
Healthy Age Friendly Homes is a support coordination service which seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults and to enable them to remain in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. An innovative collaboration between Health, Housing, and Local Government, through the Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service, this programme has been operational in nine pilot sites since July 2021. This programme establishes the unique role of the Local Coordinator, who is situated in local government and who operates at the interface between health, housing and the wider determinants. They act as a single point of contact for older adults and a catalyst to signpost services on their behalf. Referral into the programme can be made by the older person themselves, or by a family member, friend, GP, carer, or member of their community. On referral into the programme, their Local Coordinator will carry out a home visit to conduct a holistic assessment of needs in the areas of health, housing adaptations, home energy assessments and retrofits, community and social supports, and assistive technologies. The local coordinator works with the older person directly to design a personalised action plan, and will assist with any applications required, for example, to avail of relevant housing grants. Similarly, the programme has established a partnership with SEAI to provide home energy assessments, BER assessments, and energy retrofits for older adults. Following a successful Sláintecare funded pilot in 9 local authorities, the programme received €5.2m in Budget 2023 to roll out nationally to all 31 local authorities. This funding provides for 44 Local Coordinators, 6 Regional Managers, and 16 administrative support staff to deliver supports to older people nationwide. This provides for a local coordinator in each local authority and in certain areas where there is an identified need, two coordinators. These postholders are employed by Age Friendly Ireland/Meath County Council, and situated in their host local authority. The programme will be coordinated nationally across six regions by the Regional Managers, aligned to the six new HSE Health Regions. Meath County Council has progressed with scale-up efforts in the past six months. A bespoke new IT solution has been designed and tested to fit the needs of the programme in terms of caseload management and reporting. New SOPs and other efficiency measures have also been established, which will enhance productivity and response times. The recruitment of staff has also seen progress, with the 6 Regional Managers in place and making preparations for incoming coordinators. There are currently 12 Local Coordinators in situ with a further 21 expected to begin in January 2024. A further 9 are also expected to start in early 2024. Service continues to be provided to older people in the existing 9 pilot sites.
Out of the €5.2m allocated in Budget 2023 the programme is projected to spend €2.2m by year-end. This includes recruitment costs, staff salaries, travel and subsistence, development and implementation of new IT systems, engagement and promotion activities, and establishing a programme evaluation. With the majority of staff coming on stream in early 2024 it is expected that the programme will make full use of its annual allocation.