Home support services are vital for our older people, people with disabilities and their families. They allow individuals to live independently in their communities and their homes and help to reduce pressure on hospitals and residential care settings. Despite ongoing investment, the home support system in Ireland is facing deepening challenges that require urgent policy attention and sustained resourcing. It is fair to say that the majority of us wish to keep our loved ones at home for as long as possible. Today, 5,500 to 6,000 people remain on home care waiting lists in Ireland. Waiting times vary significantly by region. People in rural areas wait far longer than those in urban centres. In the Cork-Kerry region, some 1,300 people are on waiting lists due to staffing shortages. This represents nearly a quarter of the national total. The waiting list in Cork-Kerry is the longest. It is equivalent to 25% of the national waiting list. That has to be addressed. I recently received a reply from the HSE regarding respite care. It said that, unfortunately, due to exceptionally high demand for respite services, the HSE was only able to allocate a maximum of two weeks' respite to clients requesting it. This is a new change. The service has been halved. Families usually got four weeks. My office is dealing with numerous cases in west Kerry, throughout the Iveragh Peninsula, in mid-Kerry, in east Kerry and in north Kerry. It is just adding to the pressures on families who wish to look after their loved ones in the home. Persistent problems with recruitment and retention hinder service delivery. In some rural counties, recruitment has been extremely low. In large parts of Kerry, only a handful of carers have been hired for more than year. The average time to hire a home care worker can be long, which compounds delays in service provision. Workforce scarcity contributes directly to waiting lists and limits the number of home support hours available to clients. The Department of Health has criticised the HSE for rationing home care hours to stay within budget. This practice is seen as having negative impacts on individuals' health and on patient flows through the wider health system. Although the provision of home support hours has increased compared with previous years, the system is still under strain and access can feel arbitrary without statutory entitlement. There is a lack of statutory home support rights. Ireland does not yet have a fully implemented statutory home support scheme, meaning there is no legal entitlement to home care comparable to the provisions of the fair deal scheme for residential care. This contributes to unequal access, a lack of transparency, variable standards, inconsistent waiting time data and a lack of formal quality benchmarks tailored to home care needs. There are financial and administrative barriers for carers. Family carers are under significant strain. Many face long waits of more than four months for decisions on carer's allowance appeals, exacerbating financial stress. Current eligibility rules and means tests for carers' supports are seen by advocacy groups as outdated and not reflective of modern care realities. The 18.5 hour limit on carers' working hours has an impact on continuity of care and recruitment as some carers cannot work additional hours without losing support. The Home Care Coalition, a group of more than 20 organisations, has called for increased investment and has highlighted that home support receives significantly less funding than long-term residential care despite rising demand. There is strong sectoral support for the implementation of a rights-based statutory homes support scheme; a dedicated workforce strategy; carer career pathways; better pay, training and retention supports for home care workers; and reform of financial supports for family carers. It is critical that the Government fully implement a statutory home care support scheme with guaranteed entitlements and national quality standards; invest significantly in workforce recruitment and retention, including pay, training and career pathways; address the rural-urban disparities in waiting lists and targeted regional strategies; reform carer's allowance and supports to reflect modern care demands and reduce administrative delays; and increase home support funding in future budgets to close the gap with residential care investment. Home support is more than a service. It is a lifeline that enables dignity, independence and quality of life. Today's statistics show that Ireland's ageing population and rising demand make reform urgent. With the right investment and policy leadership, we can build a home support system that truly meets people's needs. I welcome the Bill and ask that the Minister of State look closely at County Kerry's situation. We need more home support and carers.

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