Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Eireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises and notes:

— the invaluable work carried out by Home Care Support Assistants;

— that the Home Support Service is a core service for older people and is highly valued by service users;

— improving access to home support is a priority for the Government, with €723 million allocated in Budget 2023, up €228 million since 2021;

— delivery of home support hours in communities is increasing, in line with enhanced investment;

— almost 20.8 million hours of home support was provided across the country in 2022, and this is 3 million more hours than were delivered in 2020;

— as of 31st August, 2023, over 14.3 million hours have been provided this year to date, and this is almost 600,000 hours more compared to the same period last year;

— addressing the shortage of care workers in Ireland is an urgent priority for the Government, with an implementation group established to implement the report of the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group on Home Carers and Nursing Home Health Care Assistants, in areas including pay and conditions of employment;

— a new tender for Home Support Services has been in place since August 2023, and this provides for a revised, increased rate to ensure that home support workers are paid appropriately, and to help address some of the key issues impacting the waiting lists and recruitment and retention;

— the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future commits to introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes, which will provide equitable access to high quality, regulated home care;

— the heads of Bill are currently being drafted by the Department of Health, with a view to bringing the heads of Bill to Government for approval before the end of the year, and primary legislation has been prioritised for drafting in the Autumn Legislative Programme and the Department is engaging with key stakeholders;

— the draft regulations are at an advanced stage, informed by a public consultation, and legal advice and engagement with key stakeholders will assist with final revisions to regulations for providers of Home Support Services in 2023;

— the Health Information and Quality Authority is in the process of developing standards for home care and Home Support Services, which are in the early stages of development; and

— the new system of regulation for home support will ensure that the public can be confident that the services provided are of a high standard and will bring Ireland in line with best international practice.".

I welcome the opportunity to discuss home support services. I thank the Deputies from the Labour Party, especially Deputy Duncan Smith, for using their time to discuss home care, which is important.

Most people prefer being cared for at home. I hope I will be able to respond to many of the issues the Labour Party raised in my speech. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will close later. Home support is an essential service for thousands of people each day. It is highly valued by service users and their families because it enables older people to live independently and with dignity in their homes for longer. It also enables many older people to return home following acute hospital admission. Otherwise, they may remain in hospital or be admitted to long-term residential care. For the record, of the 550 late discharges of care at the moment, the figure for those awaiting home support is 70.

We are working hard to make sure that those late discharges of care are not having home care held up. Some 70 of the 550 are waiting for support.

For these reasons, improving access to this service is a Government priority. Home support hours in communities are increasing in line with enhanced investment. We currently provide more hours of home support to more people than ever before. More than 54,000 people are receiving home support services today, with almost 75,000 benefiting from the service last year. I take this opportunity to recognise the hard work of healthcare workers and healthcare support assistants in delivering this unprecedented care and thank them for their commitment and the care that they deliver in the homes of older people every day.

We, as a nation, are investing €723 million in home care in 2023, representing an increase of €228 million from 2020. In 2022, we provided 20.78 million hours, an increase of 3.2 million hours on 2020. In 2023, we expect to deliver 21.5 million home support hours. As of August 2023, preliminary data show that more than 14 million hours of home support have been provided this year to date. This represents an increase of approximately 600,000 hours compared to the same period last year. All home support hours for 2023 are fully funded, including those on the waiting list. The delivery of home support hours is increasing year-on-year. In 2024, we expect to deliver 22 million hours of home support. This is more than has ever been delivered.

Regarding waiting lists, the latest figures show that 3,151 new applicants are approved for funding and awaiting a carer. In addition, 2,841 people are receiving supports but are not yet receiving the maximum hours advised. I think that is important. They probably have supports from Monday to Friday but have challenges at the weekend, especially in rural areas. This is down considerably from the start of 2020, when the total number of people waiting was 9,000.

There are challenges in the sector, particularly on the workforce side. Although progress has been made, the waiting list has reduced, and we are delivering more support hours than ever, it is frustrating for me that we currently have sufficient funding for home support hours but do not have the carers to deliver it.

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