Hundreds of people in Roscommon and Galway remain on waiting lists for home care. Some wait for up to 18 months. With the recent loss of step-down beds, nursing home closures and a lack of respite available in both counties generally, home care is even more essential. There have been clear issues around the recruitment and retention of home care workers for a long time. A report was published by the Minister last November which had 16 recommendations. Of course, there were no surprises in the findings of that report. Has there been any progress on those 16 recommendations? I also urge greater urgency from the Government on home care. We want to see older people and our most vulnerable being able to be cared for at home. We want to see them able to leave the hospital, go home and be looked after. That is very important, and I ask for a greater sense of urgency on these waiting lists.

I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of home care. It is so important, as we all know. It keeps people out of hospital, gets people out of hospital more quickly, keeps people out of nursing homes and makes sure they are safe. We have dramatically increased the budget for home care in recent years. The problem is no longer a matter of money but of finding staff who are available to be home carers. To help deal with that, we have relaxed the work permit rules so that up to 1,000 people can come in from outside the European Union and outside the EEA to work here as home carers. We are examining the possibility of an employment regulation order to put in place better pay, terms and conditions to make it more attractive, as we have done in childcare. We are also making progress on the statutory home care scheme so that there is a statutory right to home care in the way there is for nursing home care at the moment but that is not currently in place for home care.