Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the important question. I will ask the Minister with responsibility for older people to meet her to discuss what more can be done. We are spending more on home support now than ever before. The home support budget for this year is the largest ever at €840 million, delivering more than 24 million hours of home support to more than 60,000 people at any one time. However, the Deputy pointed out the disparity between rural parts of her constituency and less rural parts of the country and how we can recruit and retain staff in those areas. The work the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is leading on is around the need to get to the statutory home care scheme. That will provide much greater clarity in terms of funding, employment and structures than the current situation. In the here and now, I will ask the Minister of State what more can be done to help people in Carlow and Kilkenny and I will ask him to meet the Deputy to discuss this matter.

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