Aimee Campbell home care
Deputy O'Dowd raised the case of Aimee Campbell, whose application for home carer hours was refused because of age and the recognition of her condition. The Minister said she would look into the case if details were provided and noted the scale of home care funding and provision.
My constituent, Aimee Campbell, suffers from an illness called functional neurological disorder, FND. She has limb paralysis in both legs and in her left arm. She suffers from extreme pain and seizures. She has been turned down for home carer hours by the HSE on two grounds. The first is that, at 28, she has not reached the age of 65 and is therefore not eligible. The second ground is that her illness is not recognised. The HSE is looking again at her case. I will send the details to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I appeal to her to use her good offices to ensure her illness is recognised and she gets the support she so urgently needs.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue. I am lucky to be in the position that the Government has provided me with €726 million for home care provision in 2024. Today, 56,000 people the length and breadth of the country are receiving home care. It is a fact that they are predominantly older people. If the Deputy passes on the details of the case he raised to me, I certainly will look into it. We do not want a situation where anyone is living at home in pain.