Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

People must take eight modules to do a level 5 qualification, but if someone has started it, a person can be accepted very quickly into home care, even if he or she has not completed the course.

The strategic workforce planning group is meeting next week for the first time. I have engaged with both the HSE and the private sector. Over the past two weeks I have met the area lead for older people across the eight of the nine CHOs - I have one more to do - to talk to them about the specifics on the ground. We are challenged at the weekends and in rural areas. Every Deputy hears about this in his or her constituency office. Currently, we have to prioritise the most vulnerable, so that people at end-of-life and with chronic medical needs have to be prioritised first.

As I said, 2.9 million more hours were delivered last year so more people are being referred to us. We are trying to think outside the box and to do everything we can to encourage more people to consider home care as a career.