650 people waiting for home care services

Many elderly couples in Laois/Offaly are “struggling to cope” with the lack of Home Care services in the region, according to local Sinn Fein deputy, Carol Nolan, who raised the issue in the Dail last week.

Deputy Nolan said there are approximately 650 people on the waiting list for Home Care Packages across Laois/Offaly, and she added that “an unfair burden is being placed on carers who have saved the State millions of euro in service provision.”
In response to her Dail question, the Sinn Fein deputy was assured by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Jim Daly, that a new Statutory Scheme will be introduced which will guarantee Home Care delivery to constituents. 
Deputy Nolan was seeking accountability under the Programme for Government and promised legislation and demanded to know what provisions the Government were putting in place to increase resources for Home Care Packages.
Minister Daly said the new Statutory Scheme is at “an advanced stage of development” and, when enacted, it will give the individual a statutory entitlement to Home Care, thus compelling the HSE to ensure provision to each constituent.
Deputy Nolan has been very vocal on the issue of Home Care provision and has raised it in the Dail on a number of occasions in the past year. She has welcomed the news of the new Statutory Scheme, stating that it is “a step in the right direction”