Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I do not think the Minister of State can absolve the Department of all responsibility in this regard. There is a funding requirement involved in this. While I am not sure if the Minister of State is aware of it, at the moment there are 6,500 older people on waiting lists for home care. They have been approved for it, and it is difficult enough to get approval for it, but they are on a waiting list because there are no carers available. Equally, there are many people in hospital who are ready to be discharged but they are waiting for home care and the staff are not available.

This is largely due to poor terms and conditions within that sector. The model the Government is pursuing is not the model I would favour. It is largely and increasingly privatised in respect of both home care and nursing home care. That is a mistake, but we have that system now. That is the model the Government is working to, and it needs to be funded properly. The funding requirement is set out very clearly in the strategic workforce plan that has been drawn up. Several Ministers, including the Taoiseach, have committed to funding it, so when is the funding going to be made available by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery, and Reform?

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