Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the end of March, 6,458 older people were on a waiting list for home support nationwide and 1,482 were in CHO 2, which is Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. Almost a quarter of those waiting are in those three counties alone. Across the three counties, 5,791 were receiving home care or home help and for the first three months of the year, there was a target of 475,893 support hours. According to figures released to our health spokesperson, Deputy Donnelly, just 430,832 hours were provided in those three months. That represents a considerable shortfall by any measure, heading towards 10% in the first quarter.

Almost one in four of those waiting is in Mayo, Galway or Roscommon and these people are waiting for basic supports. Many families are making do with what they have and are struggling at home. They are in great difficulty and are making a choice to stay at home and not put an extra strain on an already overburdened health service. If people are pushed too far, they will eventually break. What is going on? Why are the targets being missed when we know demand will increase? The Minister of State said we are experiencing capacity issues. That is as plain as day. What action is the Minister of State taking to ensure that those capacity issues will be dealt with swiftly?

See this speech in context