I ask the Taoiseach to correct the record of the House regarding an answer he gave to Deputy Pearse Doherty earlier on the issue of home helps. He stated there is no waiting list for home help services in north Cork. I have a reply here from yesterday relating to just one of the 11 cases awaiting home help hours. This person was approved for services on 20 May 2019 and is currently on the HSE waiting list. A response from a HSE official to the inquiry I submitted stated that cases are being approved as hours become available on the basis of clinical need and that there is hopefully not too much longer to wait.

There is a lengthy waiting list in north Cork for home help hours. In view of what the Taoiseach stated in an earlier response, I wish to give him the opportunity to correct the record and acknowledge that there is a waiting list in north Cork.

The Government stated that €17 billion is being invested in health, the highest such investment in the history of the State. The HSE welcomed the increase, stating that it will greatly assist dealing with year-to-year rising demands on the healthcare system. However, we are not looking after our most vulnerable people in society: the elderly and the disabled. The HSE has suspended home help in spite of more than 6,000 people waiting to access such support. The elderly and the disabled want to stay at home, close to their friends and family. This is bad management by the Government and the HSE. It is taxpayers' money. It makes sense to let citizens stay at home and be cared for. Home care works. Who is accountable? Who is responsible? If this was a private company, heads would roll.

To answer Deputy Fitzpatrick's question, the HSE is responsible and accountable for these matters under the Health Acts. To answer Deputy Moynihan's question, I am almost certain I did not state there was not a waiting list in north Cork or anywhere else, but I will go back over the record and if I did say that, I will have it corrected. I am pretty certain I did not say it.