Harney hails Budget's package for elderly

A €150 package outlined in the Budget was the biggest ever increase in services for the elderly, the Health Minister said today.

Tánaiste Mary Harney said the multi-million euro package of measures outlined by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen would mean a major improvement in home and community-based supports for older people.

“Thousands of older people needing care will receive new services and support next year,” she said. “This is the largest ever increase in funding for services for older people.”

The Health Minister added: “The investment package is focused on caring for people at home, where they want to be.”

The investment package involves extra funding of €150m – with €110m spent in 2006 and the remainder in 2007.

The minister said it was estimated that 28% of nursing home residents may have continued to live at home if the right supports were in place.

The Budget set aside €20m for the Nursing Home Subvention Scheme for residents of private nursing homes – an increase of 14% on 2005.

The funds will go towards increasing numbers entitled to basic nursing home subventions and reducing waiting lists for the subventions.

Ms Harney said she was updating the subvention scheme for payments to people in nursing homes, as the assessment criteria have not been updated since 1993 to reflect the major changes in property values.

The property ceiling of €75,000 that was set as criteria for access to subventions in 1993 is being increased to €500,000 for Dublin and €300,000 for the rest of the country.

Around €8m is being provided to cover the cost of 250 extra nursing home beds which the HSE is sourcing from private nursing homes.

As part of the home care measures, around 2,000 additional home care packages will have been provided by the end of next year – which represents a trebling of current services.

An additional €30m is being allocated towards home helps in 2006 - which will provide €1.75m more help hours.

Around €9m has been provided for the full year to allow for an additional 1,325 places per week in day and respite care centres.

Ms Harney said the investment would mean many day care centres can open for five or seven days a week, rather than two or three days a week as present.

Around €2m is being allocated over next year and 2007 to address the issue of abuse of the elderly.

Around €9m is being allocated to specialist palliative care, with a further €4m being granted in 2007 to develop the services.

Ten new palliative care beds will open in Limerick’s Milford Hospice at a cost of €1.9m and six beds will open at Blackrock Hospice under the management of Our Lady’s Hospice in Dublin under funding of €1.9m. The Dublin-based St Francis Hospice will receive 1m euro increased funding and €2m will be spent on the development of palliative homecare and community based initiatives throughout the country.

Around €12.5m will be spent on the ’meals on wheels’ service next year - an increase of €2.5m euro.

Around €1m will be allocated, split between 2006 and 2007, to provide supports, including therapists and public health nurses, for sheltered housing.