Carer shortage: 'It makes a difference between whether you stay in bed all day or you don’t'

Celine Clarke, head of advocacy and communications at Age Action Ireland. Photograph Moya Nolan

There are fears that older people may be forced into residential care sooner than they would like or left languishing in hospital as 4,728 people are now waiting to be provided with a carer in their own home.

The homecare sector is currently beset by a staffing crisis, with the number of people waiting for a carer falling by just 59 since February.