There is a commitment in the programme for Government regarding home help services. I know of the case of a 97 year old woman in County Laois. She was born on the day Michael Collins was shot dead and was hospitalised in July. She had a home help prior to that. She had two weeks of respite care and was released from hospital and sent home on 26 July. Since then, I have done everything to try to get home help for her but I have not been able to do so, despite the fact that she was allocated five hours and put on a waiting list. I have made numerous representations since then. She has recently been hospitalised again and still does not have home help. I am told by HSE officials that only palliative care cases are being granted new home help hours. I made representations to the chief officer in the HSE. I will just read two lines of the reply.

Please, no. The Deputy should submit this case as a Topical Issue matter and I will consider it.

The letter states that although she is deemed to require assistance, the quantity of service is limited to available budgets. He adds that he regrets that his response cannot be more favourable. This woman was born on the day Michael Collins died.

We heard that earlier.

We put more than €17 billion into the health service this year and we cannot get five hours' home help for this woman.

There is no need for repetition.

She is in hospital and cannot come home because she does not have home help.

I call on Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony on the same issue. She should not expect the Taoiseach to answer. It is a question for the Minister.

The programme for Government includes a commitment to keeping people in their own homes for as long as possible. Obviously, home help is a part of this. Last week, I broached the issue of people who are not getting any home help over Christmas. Many of these same people in west Cork have received letters saying that no holiday cover will be provided. If their home help carer is off, there will be no cover. This is causing huge concern.

We heard that last week. I call on Deputy Carol Nolan on the same issue. She must be brief. There is no need for repetition here.

I also wish to raise the home help issue. It is a scandal that elderly people who have paid taxes all their lives are being left without adequate home help hours. The same is true for people with disabilities. I, too, have made many representations on behalf of people across counties Laois and Offaly over the summer months. They are still left without services. If the home help carer is sick, they have no replacement. This needs to be sorted out because it is a national scandal.

These are really questions for the Minister for Health or the HSE, but the Minister can respond if he so wishes.

I thank the Deputies for raising the important issue of home help. As they will know, no politician has any role in deciding who gets home help or how many hours they get. Those are decisions for clinicians and managers. However, I can say that this afternoon the HSE will publish its service plan for 2020, which was approved by Cabinet this morning. It has a budget of €17 billion, the highest ever. For the first time, there will be more than €1 billion in funding for mental health and more than €2 billion for disability. It will provide for 3,000 extra staff to be hired next year as well as extra beds, additional funding for voluntary hospices, 40,000 extra personal assistant hours and 1 million extra home help hours.