I wish to raise the issue of home care.

As the Minister of State is aware, the Cork-Kerry region has approximately 1,300 people on its home care waiting list, accounting for nearly one quarter of the national list of 6,000. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done in recent years and she has received additional funding in the most recent budget, but it has not trickled down to Cork and Kerry. At the most recent meeting that TDs from my area attended with the HSE, we were told that it took nine months to hire a home care worker on average. Much can happen in nine months and people's career paths can take different directions. Will the Minister of State please outline what the additional money she has secured in the budget will do to tackle this backlog?

I thank the Deputy for his question. Improving access to home support is a priority for me and the Government. The overall budget for home support in 2025 will be approximately €838 million, €122 million more than was secured in budget 2024. I thank the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for his support in that regard.

I am disappointed to hear that the waiting list in the CHO 4 area, which has always been longer than anywhere else, is in or around 1,300, accounting for approximately one fifth of the country’s entire waiting list. At the moment, I can fund all of the home care that is necessary. We delivered an additional 1 million hours from July 2023 to July 2024, but the problem lies in trying to get the staff to deliver that support, especially in rural areas and at weekends. We will continue doing more. Next year, we will deliver 24 million hours of home care. Every additional hour that is delivered makes a significant difference to the people living in their own areas.

The situation the Deputy described is disappointing. There are areas in north County Dublin where there are no waiting lists for home care, yet there are other areas that account for one fifth of the national waiting list. It is challenging.