Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

They would have to be paid the living wage. They would have to be provided with mileage which the HSE workers get. Notwithstanding that issue, HSE healthcare workers are paid €16.50 an hour and mileage and still it struggles to recruit. We have rolling recruitment campaigns across the nine CHOs at the moment to try to encourage more people to become healthcare workers. I want to make caring a viable career option. I will send on a copy of the strategic workforce advisory group recommendations. They have been welcomed by all. The most important thing now is that they are implement. The biggest one related to permits. They went live on 1 January this year.

In regard to the Senator's specific case, there was a joint in-person workshop entitled Service Continuity and Capacity Recruitment and Retention between the HSE and representatives from the voluntary service provider organisations. The majority of specialised disability provision is delivered through non-statutory sector service providers. We know very well from lived experience how difficult it is to encourage people at the moment to see caring as a viable career option.