Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are a great many home care workers the length and breadth of the country. To be fair, 56,500 people will receive home care today. Many will receive more than one visit during the day. However, we are seeing many more complex cases as a result of Covid and more referrals from GPs and public health nurses for people to avail of this service. The Deputy is right that if there are blockages in the community system, there will be blockages in the acute system. Two of the main recommendations were that when people are paid for providing home care, the minimum they be paid is the living wage, which is currently €12.90, and that they should receive mileage if they have to travel. I hope all these changes will make a significant difference.

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