Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Wall for raising this issue. It is great to have a Commencement matter like this put down because I can point out what we have done and what we are trying to do to support people who fall outside the areas.

It is a key priority for me and the Government to allow more people to engage with services, thereby allowing them to remain independent and able to live in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. I speak every day about the triangular supports of homecare, daycare and meals on wheels within the community setting. These include dementia-specific supports. They are a key factor in supporting older people to age well in their own homes.When I came into this post in 2020, the budget for meals on wheels was €3 million. This year, it is €6.25 million. I have doubled it. We have also done so much more. Working with Irish Rural Link, which is a phenomenal organisation, we now have the National Meals on Wheels Network, which is really important. I launched an interactive map. You can go online. Some 307 organisations come under this umbrella now. You will see exactly where meals on wheels are available.

Last year, 2.7 million meals were delivered across the length and breadth of the country. I, like the Senator, want to thank the organisations, the day centres, the meals on wheels centres, the volunteers, those who work on community employment schemes and Tús schemes, and all of these people. It is just like an army on the move every day of the week. It is so much more than a nutritious meal. I cannot tell the Senator how passionate I am about it. It is a knock on the door, a social connection, and it might be the only person someone sees that day. These wraparound supports are vital to prevent loneliness and social isolation, and to maintain positive overall health and well-being.

Regarding the couple of cases the Senator mentioned, we all know such cases that fall outside the catchment area of where the meals are being delivered. Most of these organisations tell me they have more capacity. The real challenge is in having them delivered. There are two areas overlapping and a little area in the middle that nobody is covering. I recently met the National Meals on Wheels Network. I have spoken at its annual conference every year since it started to happen in 2022. We are looking at expanding the service. We are looking at areas we would see where there is no service and we are working on that.

I want to speak specifically on the Senator's area. The HSE has advised that the total funding for meals on wheels services in the Kildare area is just under €250,000. This funding is divided across 11 meals on wheels services in Kildare, including two HSE-delivered meals on wheels services and nine section 39 agencies funded through grant aid agreements. These meals on wheels services are currently being provided to 460 people in Kildare every day. The funding provided to south Kildare makes up approximately half of the funding allocated to the Kildare area for meals on wheels services, with south Kildare receiving €130,000 in funding for these services. Meals on wheels services in south Kildare are located in Athy, Kildare town, Newbridge, Monasterevin and Rathangan. The Senator spoke about Monasterevin day care centre and how it has more capacity. I suggest that it write to its local HSE office in its CHO to propose a business plan saying that it could do an extra 20 or 25 meals per day.

Every single meals on wheels centre this year, whether it is working out of a day centre or not, should see an uplift in funding. There was an extra €1 million this year for 320 or 330 organisations. I know it is not a lot when divided up, but I have spoken to many that are seeing an uplift of approximately €20,000, and I hope it starts filtering down to them.