Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party for bringing this important motion forward. I support this motion and in particular, its calls for the immediate reversal of the recruitment embargo on health workers for a guarantee that home carers are paid, at a minimum, the new living wage rate of €14.80, for payment for mileage expenses and travel time between care locations; as well as for guaranteed hours and continuity of income for healthcare support assistants. The reality is that being a healthcare support assistant in this country does not pay. Sadly, it is a profession that is not worth pursuing due to the lack of contracted hours, the inadequate pay, and the expectation to continuously engage in unpaid work and travel. Why would people leave a job or give up a social welfare payment for two hours of contracted work per week? This is the situation faced by many home care workers today. Not only that but they are expected to travel between homes without getting paid for travel time due to the fact that the HSE-funded home care packages, which are subcontracted out to private companies, do not include travel time pay. People in rural parts of the country are often in isolated areas with little access to facilities or assistance and are left most vulnerable when home care workers are not available. There is no doubt that, as the motion states, there is a postcode lottery when it comes to home care waiting lists and there is evidence that those in rural areas wait longer due to a lack of mileage and travel costs for carers.

I believe we should provide full-time or 50% contracts to ensure predictable income for home care workers and to ensure it is an attractive job opportunity in the first place. I do not see why there should be a problem in providing such contracts. The demand for home care workers is there and there should be a situation where if there are not enough hours to fill a contract, workers could then be given hours in a local community hospital as well. This is the type of integration that needs to happen for our health system to function. We can no longer rely on private contracts and the underpayment of healthcare workers. Sadly, we know that if private companies were able to profit from this, the system would already be in place in this country.

We know Ireland has a rapidly ageing population and pressures on the healthcare system will only increase. We are already at breaking point. We need to make Ireland and our healthcare system not only an attractive place to work but a viable place to work because as it stands right now, it is not, and young people know this. The brain drain of healthcare workers going to Australia is devastating to witness but also understandable. We need to ensure our home care workers are enabled to do more and that they are given the opportunity to have a predictable income and a decent life. They should at the very least be paid the living wage, as well as travel time and mileage. Home care workers do vital work in our communities every single day and they have to be valued and respected for that.

See this speech in context