143. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Health the reason for the continued growth in the waiting list for home support services in County Leitrim; the current number of people awaiting home support in the HSE West and North-West region; the measures the Department and the HSE are taking to address staffing shortages; the expected impact of the increased home care allocation in Budget 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28225/26]

I have been working actively throughout this year with the HSE to monitor progress with efforts to reduce the home support waiting lists.

Nationally, the Waiting List has reduced by over 5% since the start of the year. The waiting list in the HSE West North West Region has reduced by 13% in that time, from 1,380 to 1,200.

The waiting list for home support services in the Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal, West Cavan Integrated Healthcare Area (IHA) at the end of December 2025 stood at 224 people. The current waiting list, as of February 2026, stands at 209 people, representing a 6.7% decrease.

The funding allocated for Home Support in this area, has increased for 2026 by approximately 14% to over €27 million.

This IHA delivered 706,819 hours of home support to approximately 1,403 people in 2025. This was 3.4% above the targeted hours for 2025.

Every effort is being made to recruit Home Support staff, including ongoing recruitment campaigns across HSE West North West Region. The Home Support service in Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal, West Cavan IHA are currently running a recruitment campaign with interviews scheduled for Thursday 23 April, and further to be scheduled over the coming weeks. A further 9 positions have been approved as part of the National Service Plan 2026 and the recruitment process has commenced.