A major increase in capital funding for services for older people was announced by the Minister for Health yesterday.
Mr Cowen approved an allocation of £14 million, which is more than double the amount made available last year. The improved capital programme, he said, would accelerate the provision of additional extended care for older people, as well as enhancing existing services and providing new equipment so that older people and their carers will have better facilities closer to where they live.
"The care of older people is clearly going to be one of the key issues to be addressed by the health services in the next decade. The challenge is to reorganise existing services and develop new ones to ensure that older people get the most effective care available. Accordingly, it is my intention to sustain this level of capital expenditure over the next few years," said Mr Cowen.
The latest projections prepared for the National Council on Ageing and Older People indicate that the older population may grow by as much as 108,000 people in the period 1996 to 2011, representing 14.1 per cent of a general population in 2011.
The projections also indicate that the proportion of the people aged over 80 years will increase from 21.9 per cent to 24.9 per cent over the same period - an additional 40,000 people.
The Minister provided details of some of the projects involved in the programme. Resources have been provided for the completion of new community nursing units at Edenderry, Carraroe, Drogheda and Dungarvan. Construction work or planning will be accelerated, he said, on units at Killybegs, Birr, Ballyconnell, Virginia and Achill. Day hospitals and day-care centres will be provided at a number of locations including Bandon, Clarecastle, Dingle, Dunmanway, Letterkenny, Tullow and Wexford.
Projects involving the replacement or upgrading of facilities at St Patrick's Hospital, Fermoy, Leopardstown Park Hospital and the Royal Hospital, Donnybrook, are also being put in train. In addition, a range of minor capital grants are being allocated for upgrading and new equipment in over 30 district hospitals and homes throughout the country.
The Minister of State for Older People, Dr Tom Moffatt, welcomed the initiative. "It is imperative that we continue to enhance and develop our infrastructure of services for older people so that we can be in a position to meet their health needs into the new millennium ," he said.