Earlier, I raised the issue of nursing homes closing. In his response, the Taoiseach mentioned the increase in home care. In that context, we see that care workers employed by private, not-for-profit companies are walking away from their employment because of low income, not having pay for their travel, not having sick pay and travel time not being counted in the number of hours worked. Those are just some of the poor working conditions that they endure. It is no wonder that they are leaving. The advisory group made a number of recommendations. One is for travel to be reimbursed. Another is that, crucially, when the HSE is inviting tenders for care work, it should insist on minimum wage being paid and on removing the ban on recruiting home care workers from non-EU countries. Will the Taoiseach commit to implementing these recommendations? I suggest that it is not just minimum wage that should be paid, but a living wage.

Is the Deputy referring to the strategic workforce advisory group on home carers?

Yes.

The Minister published the report on 15 October. It contains 16 key recommendations which will be progressed immediately via a dedicated implementation group. In 2021, some 20.4 million hours were provided, which is about 2.9 million more hours than in 2020. There was a 17% increase in one year between 2020 and 2021. That has created challenges. Some 14.2 million hours were delivered between this January and August, which is a further increase of 7% on 2021. That has created significant issues. As I said yesterday, the number of people now waiting for home supports has decreased, but I take the Deputy's point about making sure that we streamline in a positive way the terms and conditions under which people work in the private home care setting.