The director general of the HSE said he “accepts” that they do not have a big enough budget to meet the demand for home support services.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and not the Department of Health, is dictating the delivery of healthcare in Ireland, according to the outgoing president of the Irish Medical Organisation.

The country’s largest nursing union has claimed a HSE plan to save a further €80m under the Haddington Road Agreement will "seriously compromise patient safety".