“Serious questions around delivery of Tipperary’s Home Help hours,” McGrath

15-07-2016

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the HSE to explain why there is such a significant gap between the home help hour targets for Co. Tipperary and the actual amount of hours delivered to date. Deputy McGrath was speaking after it was confirmed to him by the HSE Head of Operations & Service Improvement for Older People that North Tipperary/East Limerick has only received 122,063 of its the 335,000 assigned hours for 2016; while South Tipperary has only received 95,180 of its 295,000 hours:

“I think many families of elderly people and indeed many older persons themselves will want to know why, when there is only 5 months left in 2016, that less than a third of South Tipperary’s home help hours appear to have been officially delivered. An equivalent situation would seem to apply to North Tipperary.

I accept that the HSE has provided the most up to date information to me but it remains the case that the delivery of this vital service is clearly not being rolled out or provided for in as efficient a manner as possible.

We must also remember that the targeted number of home help hours to be provided in 2016 are already significantly behind targets which were in place in 2012.

It was the previous government that effectively began cutting the amount home help hours from 2012 onwards so it is only right that the Minister for Health has said he will provide €10m to maintain the existing hours over the coming months.

This is the least they can do in order to row back on the social isolation and loss of assistance that was generated by those savage cuts.
I will also be demanding that the Minister give strict guarantees around ring fencing the additional €10m for a home care winter initiative he announced in the Dáil last month,” concluded Deputy McGrath.
ENDS