Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes by providing them with access to high-quality regulated home care. The lack of home help support is adding to the chaos in some hospitals in rural areas. The chronic shortage of millions of home help hours means that doctors are delaying the discharge of vulnerable elderly patients. The issue here seems to be the lack of enticements for people to work in the area of home help. The people who currently work in the sector do not have pensionable occupations or proper rates of wages and regulation. It is now time for the Government to put home help on a statutory footing so that it is enshrined in legislation as a sector.

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