Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, does have a moral compass. I do not think the Deputy should suggest anything to the contrary. The number of people waiting for home support across different categories has reduced from over 9,000 at the start of 2020 to approximately 5,300 at the end of September 2021. The issue is recruitment of additional home support workers. That is the issue. Everything that can be done will be done. Demand has increased but resourcing has also increased. Significant additional people have come into the service to work. We now need to do everything we possibly can to recruit more people. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has established a cross-departmental strategic workforce advisory group to get the views of stakeholders and examine the workforce challenges in home support and nursing homes. That group will also look at the issues of recruitment, retention, training, career development and sustainable employment of home care workers into the future.

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