2837. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the plan, timeline and cost to deliver 800,000 additional personal assistance hours, and 110,000 additional home support hours respite services as promised in the action plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59953/26]

The HSE provides a range of assisted living services including personal assistance (PA) and home support services to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives.

The Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026 commits to delivering 800,000 additional hours of PA and 110,000 additional hours of home support. The cost of delivering 800,000 additional hours of PA at the current rate of €32.73 per hour is €26,184,000, with the cost of delivering 110,000 additional hours of home support at €32.73 per hour being €3,600,300.

To support the fulfilment of these commitments, funding has been provided in successive Budgets to support the delivery 225,000 additional hours of PA and 140,000 additional hours of home support.

Budget 2026 also saw a substantial investment of €15m to increase the rate for service delivery for both home support and PA, helping ensure providers can build and sustain the workforce needed to support people with disabilities every day and fulfilling a key Programme for Government commitment to align the disability rates with the rate paid for similar support services in other sectors.

Further increases in service provision will be determined as part of the estimates process for Budget 2027.