Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue which has been at the heart of Government for the past four to five years and has seen dramatic expansion of supports for home care. There is no question about that. That is part of the challenge. The broader perspective is that population growth and particularly the ageing of the population is a significant backdrop to what we are currently experiencing. I think the population of over-65s has increased by about 37% in the past decade, whereas the overall population has increased by 15% in the past decade. We have a challenge. That is why we set up the Future Ireland Fund, that is, to try to provide guarantees and security for the medium and longer term in respect of a population that will age dramatically over the next two decades. That is the backdrop to it.

In terms of overall allocation, the 2026 investment in older persons' services now will exceed €3 billion compared to under €2 billion five years ago. That is a €1 billion increase. The home support is a priority, which I fully accept, with about €840 million provided for in 2025. That was an increase of €120 million on 2024 and a 70% increase compared to 2020. The resources are going in and 2026 will have a further €82 million, an 11% increase. It is more home support than has ever been delivered before. There is 43% more home support delivered now compared to 2020.

The issue, however, is fundamentally in terms of the workforce and enabling us to recruit a sufficiency of people qualified to provide such home support. About 18.8 million hours have been provided this year to date, which is about 5% more than target and 7.5% more than the same period last year. The Minister is, in the first instance, delivering on the recommendations of the strategic workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants. The enhanced HSE home support authorisation scheme has been in place since August 2023 for payments to approved private and voluntary providers to deliver home support on behalf of the HSE. This delivers on commitments for sectoral reform, such as payment for travel time, for example, for home support providers, paying carers the national living wage at a minimum and bringing legacy rates in line with the new revised rates of funding.

The ESRI's capacity review has now been published. That report projects future demand for older people's services in terms of long-term residential care and home support to 2040. That will inform policy developments. The key issue is around recruitment and getting qualified people in place to meet the undoubted needs. As the Deputy said, there are about 5,000 plus on the waiting list. That includes about 2,200 new applicants and about 3,100 who are already receiving some supports but who require additional hours.

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