I wish to raise the issue of home help and carers and the difficulty the HSE appears to be having in recruiting staff. I am aware of dozens of older people who are approved for a home support service but because resources are limited the HSE cannot follow through on its commitments. The HSE can outsource hours where required. I know all agencies are finding it difficult to secure staff at present, but why do a number of people I represent have to wait up to seven months? They are still waiting. In some situations on which I have worked I have sourced reputable private providers to provide the service, yet the HSE tells me it will not sign off on it. Can the Minister of State expand on this?

I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. We have spoken about it previously. The Government has provided, both last year and this year, €666 million for home care. That is a phenomenal amount of money. It is a huge increase and is very welcome. In 2021, we managed to deliver 2.7 million more hours than in 2020, with 55,000 people receiving home care supports. My problem, at present, is not a financial issue, because I have the money to fund almost all the home care supports. The issue is the recruitment of staff. Currently, there are just under 5,000 people who have been funded, but we are waiting for staff. In the Deputy's area, community healthcare organisation, CHO 4, the HSE is carrying out a targeted recruitment campaign. It is trying to employ 300 people through the HSE in Cork and Kerry because we are acutely aware of this. What we are doing now with recruitment is targeting specific areas. There are real issues at the weekends, especially in rural areas, but we are working very hard to resolve them.