Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State on their appointments and wish them well. Fundamental to longer and healthier living is the provision of wraparound home care supports. Our population is ageing, as the Minister has said, and the HSE accepts that the demand for home care increases by at least 4% per year. Funding for home care must increase by a minimum of 4%; anything less is a cut in real terms. It is extremely beneficial for people to continue to live in their homes and in their own environment and community. It gives people great benefit and a quality of life which cannot be provided in nursing homes or hospitals. Of course, it is of financial benefit and provides savings to the State as well vis-à-vis the cost of nursing homes and hospitals.

There are about 5,000 people on waiting lists for home care supports. The provision of home care is, unfortunately, a postcode lottery. There is a significant division between Dublin and the rest of the country. Thankfully there is little or no waiting list in Dublin, but seven counties in the mid-west and the south east, including north and south Tipperary, make up almost half of the waiting list. We must clear the waiting list and ensure equality of access to home care supports for everyone, right throughout the country. We need an additional 2 million hours of home care delivered to meet unmet needs. We need home care workers paid properly and a career structure for them. These measures must be underpinned by a statutory home care support scheme. This scheme has been in development since 2016. It was targeted for implementation in 2021 but has been repeatedly delayed. This statutory scheme must be implemented immediately.

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