Vol. 430 No. 2
22 Mr. Connor asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the home help service to the elderly people in the Western Health Board area is inadequate and that those providing the service are grossly under-paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 health boards may make arrangements to assist in the maintenance at home of persons who, but for the provision of such a service, would require to be maintained otherwise than at home. This section empowers, without obliging, health boards to provide support services such as home help, laundry and meals.
The Western Health Board employs 58 full-time home helps and 848 part-time home helps. The rates of pay for the fulltime home helps are in accordance with the national rates. The rate of pay for part-time home helps is £1.00 per hour. The total expenditure on the home help service in the Western Health Board area in 1992 was £1.335 million, with 1,432 elderly people availing of the service.
The part-time home help service originated with the concept of the good neighbour and the level of payment to home helps reflects the voluntary ethos of the service. It is a matter for the Western Health Board to decide, within competing priorities for health resources, the approprite level of remuneration for home helps.
