On 26 April, I emailed the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to bring to her attention the case of a 44-year-old woman in my constituency who has multiple sclerosis, MS, and is a wheelchair user. She had to go into a nursing home due to the lack of home care. She is 44. I am older than this woman and I am nowhere near ready for a nursing home. It is demeaning, dehumanising and not the right way to treat people. Likewise, there are twins living in my constituency who are almost 18. Both are wheelchair users and both have been allocated home care. It is hit and miss every week as to how much care is delivered. One of them now needs to go into hospital for an operation, but that cannot happen yet because the doctor will not sanction a release unless the requisite home care can be provided and there is no guarantee that it will. Both families believe that Home Care Direct might be able to be part of the solution, but it would seem that the negotiations are going nowhere. Can I please get an update as to when we will have sustainable home care for people in north County Dublin?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Only in the past week I have met with various providers to discuss how we can access care and work with other providers that are not part of the framework. I refer to looking at this provision with a person-centred approach and a clear understanding of the value of personal assistance, PA. This is very different from home care and home support. We need to use PA support for people aged under 65 in conjunction with various providers. Department officials and I attended that meeting. I hope we will have a positive outcome.

I thank the Minister of State.