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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 17 Apr 1996

Vol. 464 No. 1

Written Answers. - Home Support Services.

Mary Wallace

Ceist:

56 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Health the amount of money allocated in each of the last ten years for home care assistance schemes. [7698/96]

, Limerick East): As part of the 1992 development of services to people with a mental handicap, a special home support scheme was initiated to help meet the needs of families with a member with a mental handicap. The scheme works in a flexible manner; for example, providing assistance with clients in their homes, taking clients to leisure activities, allowing carers a few hours off, etc. The home support services are provided by both health boards and voluntary mental handicap agencies and specifically targeted at those persons who have no service or an inadequate service.

The amounts allocated in respect of this service in each year since 1992 are as follows:

£m

1992

0.965

1993

1.536

1994

1.000

1995

0.455

1996

0.300

However, because of the use of a number of elements of the support services by families caring for a family member with a mental handicap, it is difficult to identify more precisely the amounts which relate solely to the home support services.
With regard to services for people with physical and sensory disabilities, the additional cumulative allocation of £6 million made available over the last four years for services for people with physical disabilities has allowed improvements to be made to the home help and home care attendant schemes run by health boards and voluntary agencies. Additional funding provided in the last three years for the development of these services was £175,000 in 1993, £76,000 in 1994 and £100,000 in 1995. Proposals for the allocation of development funding provided in 1996 for services for people with physical disabilities are being finalised.
Information on funding for home care assistance schemes prior to 1992 is not available.
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