Due to a lack of carers, some 542 families in Wexford are waiting on the delivery of the home care support services that they have been granted by the HSE. Yesterday, the strategic workforce review group issued its report with 16 recommendations, among which were that recruitment issues should be solved by permit applications and pay and conditions, just to name two. In the absence of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, whom I wish well in her recovery, I ask the Taoiseach to make a commitment to the House that he will implement those recommendations before he leaves office to ensure the 542 families who are in need of the package in Wexford will receive it by Christmas.

I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. That report outlines the group’s key findings with regard to the complex challenges affecting the recruitment and retention of care workers. Those recommendations will be progressed immediately via a dedicated implementation group which deals with pay and pensions for home support workers, healthcare assistants and private and voluntary organisations.

The total number of people waiting for home support had reduced from more than 9,000 at the start of 2020 to 5,744 by the end of March 2022. I note that despite capacity challenges, overall service delivery has increased by approximately 17% year-on-year. The additional funding for 5 million more home support hours in 2021 has been maintained. In a sense, that expansion of the programme created difficulties in terms of recruitment. We will go through and particularly activate ones we can do quickly.