Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. As he will be aware, we are putting record amounts of money into home care at present. The problem is no longer the money; it is finding staff who are willing to work in the area. We have plans for a statutory home care scheme. We have opened up the work permit system for home carers to come in from abroad and work in home care in Ireland. We have not yet seen the impact of that because it is relatively new. I will ask the Ministers of State, Deputies Richmond and Butler, to examine whether we should have an employment regulation order for home carers. When we did it in child care, it created a salary scale, terms and conditions and benefits that have made child care more attractive as a profession. Perhaps the same principle might apply in home care as well.

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