It has emerged that 6,255 people across the State are waiting for a carer to be allocated to them despite being approved for the service. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Disability and Carers, Pauline Tully has called on the Government to provide carers to assist people who need home support,
She said there has been a "shocking growth" in the numbers waiting since the start of this year when 5,000 people were on a list for a carer. Deputy Tully told Northern Sound that the figures expose a growing crisis within the homecare system in Ireland.
She added that behind every statistic were real lives and real people who were being let down by the State. "At the same time as the list of those approved but still awaiting home care support is growing my parliamentary questions reveal that the HSE is employing over 1,000 more home care support assistants than they were in 2017.
"I am calling again on the Government to engage with private, community, and voluntary homecare providers to incentivise the progression of the terms and conditions they offer their staff and bring them into line with those employed directly by the HSE.
"I am also calling on the Government to relax the income and working hours limits for part-time home care workers in receipt of social welfare payments to quickly introduce additional capacity to the homecare sector.
"This situation is not good enough for people who need these services. The Government must stop burying its head in the sand on this issue," said the Cavan/Monaghan TD.
