I thank Deputy Burke for raising this important matter. I know his keen interest in this area. I welcome the ESRI report on future capacity requirements in older people's care, which was published on 30 June and encompasses residential care for older people and home support. The analysis in the ESRI report utilises the Hippocrates model to update baseline estimates of demand in 2022 for residential care, both long term and short term, and projects demand and capacity for these services out to 2040. The ESRI report projects that the number of residential beds, both long term and short term, will need to increase by at least 60% by 2040. The Deputy referred to the findings of the ESRI report too. The research was funded by the Department of Health and considers a range of scenarios based on varying assumptions about population growth and ageing, the effects of healthy ageing and policy choices. The ESRI's demand and capacity analysis will be invaluable in advancing evidence-based capacity planning that is responsive, agile and meets the needs of our older population over the coming years and decades. People are living longer lives and the number of older people in the total population is growing. The success that has been achieved in improving health outcomes and extending life expectancy must be acknowledged and celebrated. However, we must also recognise the challenges we will face in a range of areas in the coming years as our population ages. The ESRI report sets out that we will need a substantial increase in long-term and short-term residential care capacity to meet the demands of our growing and ageing population. The Government's long-standing strategic goal is to deliver a new model of integrated older persons' health and social care services across the care spectrum, supporting older people to remain living independently in their own homes and communities for longer, in line with the Sláintecare vision for receiving the right care, in the right place, at the right time. However, it is recognised that care provided in long-term residential care settings for older people will continue to be an important part of the continuum of care for older people into the future. As Minister of State with responsibility for older people, I am very conscious of the importance of strengthening the capacity and resilience of our health system through the delivery of health and social care infrastructure. This Government is committed to continued investment in healthcare infrastructure that supports the highest quality care for our older population. This investment includes the community nursing unit programme, which was launched to ensure that up to 90 of our public community nursing units and community hospitals would be refurbished or replaced to ensure the best quality environments for our older people, and to ensure HIQA compliance. A total of €4 million was allocated in budget 2025 to staff and open an additional 615 community beds this year in capital projects coming to fruition through this capital programme. The 2025 programme for Government also committed to build more public nursing home beds. The Department of Health, alongside the HSE, is developing a new long-term residential care additional capacity plan, which will be published in 2025. This is an absolute priority for me as Minister of State and for the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. As Deputy Burke will be aware, the Government established an independent Commission on Care for Older People in March 2024. The commission is charged with examining the provision of health and social care services and supports for older people, including residential care, and with making recommendations to the Government for their strategic development. I look forward to the first report of the commission, which will be published in the coming months. It is evident that significant further investment will be required by the Government to ensure that the appropriate care services are available for our older population and to deliver on the programme for Government, Sláintecare and Project Ireland 2040 commitments. I am absolutely committed to ensuring that this capacity planning is advanced in 2025.

Sentiment score: 0.52

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this matter. He will be aware the ESRI health capacity review on future capacity for care for older people is the third in a series of capacity reviews on Ireland's health services, following reports on public acute hospitals and general practitioner services. The ESRI will publish further analysis later this year. I note the points that the Deputy raises in the other matters he highlighted. The ESRI report provides an evidence base that is crucial for future planning and ensuring we provide the right health and social care services in the right place for our older population. The ESRI report deals with both long-term and short-stay beds, which I acknowledge. It deals with home care too. There has been significant investment by the Government in home care hours. They have gone up by 70% since 2020. The investment is €838 million compared with €400 million. There is a significant commitment by the Government to home care. At the moment, we are working on development of statutory home care. The first step in that is for home care providers legislation, which I am progressing. As part of the ongoing collaboration between the ESRI and the Department of Health, the commission is building a demand and capacity modelling capability for our modern health service. I have already stated that demand for health and social care services is increasing as our population increases and ages. Older groups tend to use healthcare services more frequently and for a longer duration. I reiterate that we are making progress in increasing residential care capacity for the older population. In response to future capacity requirements, the commitment to building more nursing home beds is an absolute priority for Government. In this context, the Department of Health and the HSE are developing a new public long-term residential care capacity plan, which will be published this year. It is something I am very committed to. As I mentioned, the Government has established an independent Commission on Care for Older People. The commissioner is charged with examining the condition of health and social care services and supports for older people including residential care and will make recommendations to the Government for their strategic development. I very much look forward to the first report from the commission, which will be published in the coming months under the chair of Professor Alan Barrett. It is doing a considerable body of work.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation is the lead-Department on protected disclosure legislation and provides guidance on all protected disclosure processes and guidance. Section 21(1) of the Protected Disclosures Act in Ireland empowers the Minister for public expenditure to issue guidance to public bodies to assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities under the Act. This guidance aims to help public bodies establish and maintain effective procedures for handling protected disclosures. The Minister may also issue guidance on the information that must be published setting out how disclosures may be made to Ministers or Ministers of State. This guidance is issued with the aim of assisting the persons referred to when establishing and maintaining reporting channels and procedures for the making of protected disclosures and for dealing with such reports of disclosures, referred to in this guidance as "procedures". Section 21(2) of the Act provides that the persons referred to above "shall have regard to" this guidance when establishing and maintaining such procedures. This means that while the channels and procedures should be tailored according to the specific business needs of the organisations concerned; they should be in general conformity with the principles set out in this guidance. The Department of Health encourages all staff to speak up about concerns they may have about potential wrongdoings in the workplace. The Department has established procedures for the making of protected disclosures via our internal and external channels. All reports received are forwarded to the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner. This ensures all reports of alleged wrongdoing doing are dealt with in a fair and transparent manner by the most appropriate prescribed person or other suitable person. Reports received in the Department are treated seriously and investigated where appropriate. The Protected Disclosures Act requires that the identity of the whistleblower is protected and remains confidential to the greatest extent possible. Whistleblowers are informed on how their concerns are addressed and the outcome of any investigation. Whistleblowers are protected from penalisation and should not fear making a disclosure. The Department of Health is committed to ensuring all staff members feel they can safely make reports of any alleged wrongdoings.

Sentiment score: 0.36

On behalf of the Minister of Health, who I am taking this on behalf of, I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter. The Department of Health encourages all staff to speak up and raise any concerns they may have relating to potential wrongdoings in the workplace. The Department provides the necessary supports for any staff member who raises any possible wrongdoings. A staff member who makes a protected disclosure under the Protected Disclosures Act is protected from penalisation or threatened penalisation. The Department has established procedures for the making of protected disclosures by workers who were employed by the Department and for dealing with such disclosures. These procedures have been developed in accordance with the guidance issued by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. The Department has both internal and external channels available for receiving reports of wrongdoing and details of how to make these reports through the appropriate channels are published on the Department's website. In accordance with the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022, all reports received via these channels are forwarded to the Office of Protected Disclosures Commissioner. The commissioner ensures that the report is submitted to the most appropriate prescribed person or suitable persons to deal with it. These measures ensure that all reports received are considered with transparency and impartiality. It is also possible for whistleblowers to make reports directly to the commissioner if they wish to do so. Where a report is received for assessment, the concern is treated seriously and investigated where it is considered appropriate. Where an investigation takes place the identity of the person raising the concern is protected and remains confidential to the greatest extent possible, as required under the Protected Disclosures Act. The person raising the concern will be advised as to how the issue is being addressed, including the outcome of any investigation. Whistleblowers play an important role in revealing serious misconduct such as corruption, unsafe work practices or public health threats and improving accountability and transparency by fostering a culture where serious wrongdoing is not tolerated. As such, whistleblowers are protected under the Act from penalisation including dismissal, demotion, disciplinary action and reputational damage. The Department of Health takes these obligations very seriously and is committed to ensuring that all staff members feel that they can make reports of major wrongdoing without fear of penalisation. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister and will bring the matters raised to her attention.

Sentiment score: 0.30