296. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the current waiting times for elderly home support services in counties Louth and Meath, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13402/24]

299. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the number of people that were on the waiting list for homecare packages in counties Louth and Meath, at the end of each year from 2018 to 2023, in tabular form. [13406/24]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 296 and 299 together.

As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE recently ended the industrial action which commenced on 6 October 2023. As a consequence, members in these grades were not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result of the accumulated backlog, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.