Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the same matter, I raised this with the Tánaiste last week and he did not give a satisfactory answer. As I can hear in the Dáil Chamber, there is a chronic crisis in the home help sector right across the country, particularly in my area. Home help organiser posts are not being filled. This is leading to a chronic backlog that dates right back to the end of June. No extra home help has been given to patients who have been discharged. In cases where patients are waiting to be discharged, the Government should put a proper home care package in place. It makes no economic sense to do what is now being done because it is costing the State on the other side. We need to be very realistic. The home help package is a massive facility for elderly people, in particular. What is happening is shameful.

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