Improving access to home support is a priority for this Government. Home support hours have increased every year since 2020, from 17.8 million hours in 2020 to a funded target of over 24 million hours in 2025, including intensive and complex home support. The HSE has reported that 5,556 people were assessed and waiting on the provision of home support at the end of 2024, including those waiting for a carer to be assigned and those waiting on funding to be allocated. This is a substantial reduction since the start of 2020, when over 9,000 people were waiting across both categories. Of the people assessed and waiting, 3,073 had a home support service in place but required additional hours, while 2,483 people were waiting for a new package. As at the end of March 2025, the latest preliminary data indicates that 5.97 million hours had been delivered, an increase of approximately 5.5% since March last year. Nationally, the waiting list for home support reduced to 4,888 people at the end of March, with 2,693 people waiting for additional home support hours and 2,195 people waiting for a new package. No one was waiting for funding to be allocated. The waiting list was approximately 17% higher at the same time last year. Priority is given to those in the community with acute needs and those assessed and in hospitals who can return home with supports.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I thank the Deputy. I gave him global figures. I assumed he was going to ask me about CHO 8, his own area.
Sentiment score: 0.12
It is across the spectrum and there are different areas. As regards the Deputy's area of CHO 8, the additional hours provided to March 2025 were 434 in terms of people waiting. The total number of people waiting was 791. At the end of December 2024, that number was 932. We have seen a reduction of 141 in the number of people waiting. This is a positive. At the end of December 2024, then, the figure for people waiting was 932, while at the end of March 2025 it was 791. This is an improvement of 141 people, which is a 15% improvement. In terms of the number of people receiving home care support packages in CHO 8, there were 9,113 at the end of March 2025. This was an improvement from March 2024, when the figure was 8,137. This was an increase of 676 people, which equals 8%. We are always seeking to improve the system and deliver. There are two elements here. There are people who have existing hours and need more and there are people who need new services.
Sentiment score: 0.25
We can say we are always looking to increase the level of funding that has gone into home care, but it has increased to €838 million from a base of just over €400 million in 2020. It is such that between 58,000 and 60,000 people are receiving the service. The key thing is that, since last December, we have seen a significant reduction in the numbers. Deputy Gould might want to bring me the particular human case he spoke about because there is a huge human factor here. I am obviously engaging with the officials and with the HSE. Furthermore, I will meet again with the HSE on the particular matter to see what we can do to make further improvements to reduce the numbers on the waiting lists. It is fair to say there has been significant investment in the area, certainly over the past five years. It is my role to see if we can improve delivery of the service for people who have existing hours and are looking for additional hours and for people who need a new service. There is a key focus on people coming out of hospitals who have that acute need.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I wish Deputy Rice well in his new role as Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Health. No doubt, we will be working with him. The programme for Government commits to designing a statutory home care scheme to allow people to stay in their own home for as long as possible. As Minister of State with responsibility for older people and housing, I am fully committed to delivering the design of the scheme and the operational and legislative reform that will be necessary to underpin it. Achieving this commitment requires a focused effort across several work streams, all contributing towards developing the statutory framework and improving experiences of those receiving home support. The first legislative element is the health (amendment) (licensing of professional home support providers) Bill 2024, which will establish a licensing framework for professional home support services. The general scheme was approved by Government on 14 May 2024 and has been referred to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for final drafting with a view to presenting the Bill to Cabinet in quarter 2 of 2025. This Bill will provide for the regulation of the sector by HIQA. Final amendments have been made to draft regulations for home support providers following public consultation. Alongside this legislation, the Department is working to address the future financing of home care, the reform of the model of service delivery and the breadth of issues relating to recruitment and retention in this sector, all in the context of a substantial expansion of the State-funded home support service.
Sentiment score: 0.41
As Minister of State, I have a responsibility to navigate the introduction of a statutory home care scheme. I am utterly committed to it but it must be built on solid foundations and process. The home care sector is unregulated so we have to regulate it.
Sentiment score: 0.46
This is a statement of fact. That is the first step. We are looking at the funding model. The ESRI is doing a body of work, which I hope to receive very shortly, looking at capacity in the context of acute, older people and private health services, so it is part of it overall. The first step is to get the legislation passed to regulate the sector. We will look at a funding model to look to introducing a statutory home care scheme that gives people the right to statutory home care.
Sentiment score: 0.20
It is worth setting out the practical side of it. Since 2020, Government has increased the spending on home care packages by €338 million. That is a considerable amount of money that has clearly allowed people to stay in their homes. It is about choice. We must stick with the process. I am new in the role. A lot of work was done by my predecessor. It is now about bringing the legislation forward and bringing it through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I have no doubt we will be working on it in the Oireachtas Committee on Health, more particularly, in plenary session here and in the Seanad. We will then look to put a model in place that enhances the home care provision people have at home. The fair deal scheme took many years to introduce. It is about getting this right. Bringing it forward is a priority for me and the Government.
Sentiment score: 0.12