Home care hours delay
Deputy Catherine Connolly said people were waiting up to four years for home care hours and asked whether the workforce group had produced interim recommendations. The Taoiseach promised to speak to the Minister, acknowledged the long wait was excessive, and said extra hours had been provided while staffing shortages were being addressed.
The Taoiseach and the Minister for Health are fully aware of the crisis concerning home care hours. I raise this issue again in the context of a reply I just received. At this stage, figures mean nothing. People are waiting up to four years for home care hours. It is now over three months since a strategic workforce group was set up. Have there been any interim reports or recommendations concerning the recruitment and retention of home care staff?
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I will speak to the Minister and come back to the Deputy regarding the interim measures. Four years seems a bit long.
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People are waiting up to four years for-----
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There has been a huge acceleration in home care. Over 1 million extra hours have been provided in the last year and a half. However, because of that extra provision the skills issue or the availability of workers became a big issue. The Deputy is right that the task force was set up to see if something could be done in respect of upskilling, etc. I will come back to the Deputy on whether the Minister has interim recommendations from that work.