I thank Deputy John Paul O’Shea for raising this important matter. The Government is committed to supporting older people in Ireland and improving their access to healthcare services in the community. Budget 2026 saw an increase of approximately €215 million to maintain and enhance services for older people, resulting in a total allocation of over €3 billion for the first time. This includes a further substantial increase for home support services to bring the 2026 budget allocation to over €900 million, more than doubling the investment since 2018. The target for the delivery of home support hours has increased accordingly, from 24 million hours in 2025 to 26.7 million hours for 2026. That is an increase of 1.7 million hours. In the Cork area, provisional figures from the HSE indicate that over 2.2 million hours of home support were delivered up to the end of November 2025. This represents an increase of 6.5% compared to the number of hours delivered in the same period in 2024. There were 6,022 people receiving a home support service at the end of November 2025, compared to 5,796 at the end of November 2024, which is a 3.9% increase. The waiting list for home support services in this area at the end of December 2025 stood at 915 people. Of these, 547 people were waiting for new packages, while 368 people were waiting for additional hours. The HSE has stated that it is acutely aware that there are capacity issues across both direct and indirect provision of home support throughout the region. The HSE is committed to attracting additional staff and increasing its capacity to deliver support to as many clients as possible. The HSE is running ongoing recruitment campaigns as well as supporting the professional development of staff working in the area. HSE south west has advised that recruitment efforts in the Cork region are ongoing with a recruitment campaign currently live to recruit healthcare assistant staff in Cork and Kerry. Additionally, HSE south west has advised that dedicated recruitment co-ordinators for healthcare assistant, home support, run campaigns throughout the year. In the six months from August 2025 to January 2026, 29 healthcare assistants, home support, have been hired in the Cork region. More broadly, addressing the home support waiting list is a priority for the Government. Improving these lists requires more support and more workers at a time where there are international challenges with recruiting healthcare workers. The strategic workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants was set up in 2022 to address the challenges relating to front-line carer roles in the home support and long-term residential care sector. Work continues to deliver on the recommendations of this group, including a survey on the experience of healthcare assistants, which is due to be launched shortly. This will inform development of future target interventions to increase recruitment retention in the sector. I will take this matter up with the HSE, at national and local level. I have already held meetings with representatives of the HSE. I will meet with the HSE personnel involved in home support in Cork to see if we can reduce waiting lists and waiting times. For those who are waiting for them, home support packages are hugely important. The home support providers Bill has just passed the Second Stage. The purpose of this legislation is to improve the regulation of the sector. More importantly, it is the first step in ensuring that home care will be provided in the context of a statutory home care scheme. On the particular issue that the Deputy has raised in respect of Cork, I will follow up directly with my officials and the HSE in Cork. I will also follow up with the HSE nationally.

Sentiment score: 0.43

The home support services is a core service for older people. It is a highly valuable service used by them, their families and the HSE. Delivery of a high-quality consistent home support service is essential to help people to live well in their homes and communities for as long as possible. Recruitment to this sector is an ongoing challenge for both the HSE and private providers. Within the HSE, work is ongoing at the regional and national level to build capacity to support workforce development and improve access to home care services in the community. Within the Department of Health, work to deliver on the recommendations of the strategic workforce advisory group to support the recruitment and retention of workers in essential front-line care roles is continuing. Since the strategic workforce advisory group was established, record levels of care have been delivered in the community. Within the Department, work is ongoing to explore options to increase the effectiveness of home support and to address waiting list issues experienced by clients around the country. Among the changes will be to explore the use of assistive technology in home support initiatives in order to directly address rural home support provision. Research is ongoing in the Department to improve the current provision of home support in communities and enable our home support service to take advantage of new technology and the support available in the sector to support clients in the service. Going back to the specific request in relation to Cork, I will meet with the HSE in Cork to discuss recruitment, waiting lists, waiting times and the plans that are in place to recruit people and, more particularly, to bring down the waiting times. Home support is a priority for the Government. We have made record levels of investment of more than €900 million. As already stated, the home support providers Bill will increase and improve the quality of care available in the sector. Furthermore, there is a commitment in the programme for Government regarding the design of a statutory home care scheme. In the context of the practicalities, we have provided an addition of 1.7 million hours. That was a priority in the budget. On the Deputy's specific request, I will meet representatives of the HSE in Cork to discuss the delivery of home support hours and will update him accordingly.

Sentiment score: 0.47

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Government remains fully committed to the implementation of healthcare reform under the Sláintecare framework, ensuring that patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time. Central to our hospital avoidance strategy is the development of injury units, which provide safe and efficient care for injuries that are unlikely to require hospital admission, such as broken bones, sprains and burns. These units are designed to provide the same level of care for specific conditions as an emergency department but more locally and with significantly shorter waiting times. By providing the same level of care for specific conditions as an emergency department but with significantly shorter waiting times, injury units play a vital role in reducing congestion in our acute hospitals. Last year, there were 222,697 attendances at injury units, representing a 5% increase compared to 2024. Crucially, the median patient experience time, PET, in an injury unit remains exceptionally low, at just 1.3 hours, ensuring that patients with non-life-threatening injuries can access the care they need much more quickly than in a traditional emergency department setting. In relation to Balbriggan, the Balbriggan primary care centre already delivers a broad range of integrated services to meet the health needs of the local population. These include primary care therapy services, community specialist teams for older people, a chronic disease hub, mental health services and disability services. The centre also hosts two GP practices and a pharmacy. The Minister is committed to building capacity in primary care by recruiting additional staff and promoting advanced practice roles in the community. The HSE undertook a national injury unit review in 2023 to examine service levels and geographical coverage. This review has informed the 2026 national service plan, which includes provision for new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. Regarding the Deputy's request for a minor injury hub, I must advise that while the HSE undertook a national injury unit review in 2023 to examine geographical coverage, there are currently no plans to open an injury unit in Balbriggan. The 2026 national service plan focuses on new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. However, the HSE continues to review expansion plans and future-proof the system by working towards standardising opening hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, across existing sites to improve accessibility. Residents in Balbriggan currently have access to the following options for non-life-threatening injuries: the Mater Smithfield rapid injury clinic in Dublin 7; the Dundalk injury unit at St. Joseph's Hospital; and Connolly hospital emergency department, which features a dedicated nurse-led minor injury unit. The Department and the HSE will continue to monitor population growth and geospatial implications to ensure that our urgent care footprint evolves to meet the needs of growing communities like Balbriggan.

Sentiment score: 0.14

Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As I said, I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Government remains committed to the implementation of healthcare reforms that ensure patients receive safe and convenient care in the right place at the right time. Last year, we saw 222,697 attendances at injury units across the country, which was a 5% increase. This demonstrates the growing public confidence in this model. By maintaining an exceptionally low median patient experience time of just 1.3 hours, these units provide an efficient and faster pathway for those with non-life-threatening injuries. While there are currently no plans for a stand-alone injury unit at Balbriggan, we are future-proofing the national network by standardising opening hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and opening new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. In the interim, Balbriggan primary care centre continues to play a vital role in delivering a vast array of integrated services from chronic disease management and older people's specialist teams to mental health and disability services. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to building further capacity in primary care by recruiting additional staff and promoting advanced practice roles to meet the needs of a growing population. The Department and the HSE will continue to monitor population growth and geospatial requirements to ensure our service evolves to meet the needs of the people of Balbriggan.

Sentiment score: 0.37