A reduction in home help hours to the elderly in Mayo has been sharply criticised by the Fine Gael spokesperson on social protection, Deputy Michael Ring.
Dep Ring said it was a disgrace that such cutbacks were taking place at a time when cash was available for unnecessary junkets by HSE personnel.
Deputy Ring had sought details of the home care service in Mayo and was informed by Frank Murray, area operations manager, Mayo Health Service, that the number of home help hours delivered up to the end of August was 294,600 hours, which was a decrease of 32,000 hours on the same period last year. The reduced expenditure in 2010 to date, he said, was €507,000
“However, we are continuing to approve new clients and in fact the number of new applicants has increased to 500 new cases approved this year, as against 487 for the same period last year,” Mr Murray added.
Deputy Ring said it was no time to be cutting back on home care services.
“The HSE have money for junkets and they have money for everything else, yet it is the old, the weak, and the sick who are paying for this when in fact there should be additional hours of home care,” Deputy Ring protested.
