I congratulate Deputies Clare Daly, Wallace, Fitzgerald and Kelleher on their election to the European Parliament.

This is national carer's week. It is a week in which we acknowledge and recognise the tens of thousands of carers throughout the State for the contribution that they make to people's lives, to families and to communities. We can safely say that they are everyday heroes without whom many people would not enjoy a decent or normal life. We can all agree that they are to be commended on their efforts and work.

Therefore, it is with much regret to learn as we did recently that the HSE has effectively suspended the allocation of home help hours to new applicants. It has applied this suspension at a time when more than 6,000 people are waiting for access to home care supports. The Taoiseach knows as well as I do the impact this will have on older people, people in need of care and people with disabilities and their carers, as well as their wider communities. The Taoiseach also knows it will place further pressure on hospitals by compounding the problem of delayed discharges.

The HSE says it has taken this action to balance the budget for 2019 but curtailing home help hours is a false economy. Directly employed home help, in particular, represents exceptional value for money. It allows older people to remain in their homes or to be safely discharged from hospital. If patients do not have enough home help hours, they are forced to remain in hospital at a substantial cost to the HSE or their families are forced to pay privately for home care support. Neither of these options represents value for money. Both of them end up costing more in the long run. We consistently hear from patients in hospitals who cannot be discharged because of a lack of home care supports. There are people who want to go home, and who could and should be going home, but adequate supports are not in place. Despite a budget increase of €10 million for this year, the number of hours being provided is simply not enough. I could say "we told you so" because Sinn Féin warned that the allocation would be inadequate. We argued for an extra allocation of €40 million in respect of home care packages to make adequate provision, but the Government chose not to listen. I would like the Taoiseach to commit to looking at whether funding can be found in the HSE budget to fund additional home help hours that can ease budgetary pressures elsewhere. I ask him to do that quickly because it would be money very well spent and it would save the HSE money in the long run. At a time when there is rightly a focus on budgetary practices, we need to focus on things that work and on real and prudent public spending.

This is national carer's week. I want to join my voice to those of the Deputy and others in this House who have paid tribute to carers, who do enormous work for their families and others. The Government and society place enormous value on the work of those who care for people in their own homes and in other homes. Those are not just words; in the last couple of years the Government has made some substantial changes to improve the supports that exist for carers. The carer's support grant, which had been cut, has been fully restored and is being paid at the moment. Indeed, there is no means test for that. Over the course of the last three budgets, we have increased carer's allowance and carer's benefit by €15 a week. The means test for carer's allowance is considered to be one of the fairest and most generous in the developed world. Last year, we extended free GP care to people in receipt of carer's allowance and carer's benefit because we believe carers need to be cared for too. Now they can attend their doctors without having to pay consultation fees. There has been an increase in provision for respite. Approximately 12 new respite houses are being opened across the country to provide more respite for people. This allows carers to take a break, which is important for their physical and mental health. I reiterate that there has not been any cut in funding for home support and home care. In 2018, the total budget was €418 million and 15.7 million home support hours, including intensive home care packages, were provided. Almost €30 million extra has been provided in this year's budget, which allows us to increase the number of home help hours being provided from 17.5 million to 18.5 million. An additional 1 million hours are being provided this year. This is quite a substantial increase. As is always the case when it comes to health and social care, however, there is no limit to demand. We have to manage within our means. We have to make sure that we come in on budget and that we provide for this appropriately.

The Taoiseach has not addressed the central point of my question. It has been confirmed by the HSE that between now and early November, there will be a reduction or a restriction on the number of new or additional hours allocated. As I said in the course of my question, this comes at a time when more than 6,000 people are on a waiting list for home care supports.

Very often, as the Taoiseach knows, those will be the only supports afforded to carers. I asked the Taoiseach a simple question and he recited what he regards as his record of support for carers. Carers, of course, will dispute many aspects of that but I am asking him about this particular issue. Will he go back to the HSE management and tell them that it is not acceptable to say to people who are waiting for home help hours that they may not receive any assistance until November? That is months away and anybody who cares for an older person or a person with a disability will tell the Taoiseach that it is not sustainable to ask them to wait for months on end for additional supports. The HSE said it is taking this action because of budgetary pressures but this is a classic case of penny wise and pound foolish.

The Deputy's time is up.

A cut of this nature runs against the grain of Sláintecare and the stated intention to keep people in the community. It runs against the ambition of dealing with delayed discharges and overcrowding in our hospitals. It makes eminent sense for the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, to go back to HSE management and tell them that the money has to be found and that 6,000 people or more cannot be left in the lurch, particularly now, during national carer's week.

Please, the Deputy's time is up.

I ask the Taoiseach to make a commitment to the people he has commended so warmly that he will go back to the HSE and that the money will be found for home help hours.

If it is a case of comparing records, one only has to look at the difference north of the Border when it comes to the income supports provided to carers, where Deputy McDonald's party served in government for a long time. I am happy to compare that record at any point in time.

That is an old record.

The budget for home help and home support in 2015 was €306 million. This year it is €446 million, so in the course of only four years there has been a 50% increase in the budget for home help. People will argue that providing extra money for home help takes pressure off hospitals and reduces hospital costs but there is no evidence that this is the case because notwithstanding a 50% increase in home help funding in the past four years, savings have not arisen further up the line in hospitals, unfortunately.

That is because people are stuck in hospital.

What appears to be logical does not often turn out to be the case when one actually does it.

The Taoiseach is not drilling down into those figures. There is a story behind them.

An extra €30 million has been provided for home help this year and that will provide an extra 800,000 home help hours this year.

Where are they?

There will be 800,000 more home help hours this year than last year. It is necessary for the HSE to manage that additional resource appropriately.

There will be no more hours until November. Where are they?