Nearly 5,000 people waiting for home support care

A further 2,693 already receiving care in their home are waiting for additional hours

Legislation is currently progressing 'which will regulate home support services'.

Nearly 5,000 people are waiting for a home support carer to be assigned to them in order to remain living independently.

The most recent figures show that there are 4,888 people who have been assessed and allocated hours but are waiting on carers to be assigned despite there being no issues with funding.

A further 2,693 who are already receiving care in their home are waiting for additional hours in order to get sufficient support to stay at home.

The figures were provided to Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane, who said that while the best option for people is to remain living at home, the lengthy waiting lists are taking the decision out of families' hands.

"Essentially there are over 7,500 mainly older people waiting for the appropriate levels of home support to be provided," said Mr Cullinane.

There are people on those waiting lists who are only receiving a fraction of the hours they have been allocated, he said.

The previous government committed to a statutory home care scheme, Mr Cullinane noted, it was first proposed in 2017 and has still not been put in place.

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Minister of State for older people Kieran O'Donnell said this week the Department of Health is "progressing the development of a regulatory framework for providers".

The legislation to be developed will regulate home support services by establishing a system for registering providers and it will be an offence to operate without being registered, Mr O'Donnell said.

Home and Community Care Ireland CEO Joseph Musgrave said it is "mind boggling" that eight years after it was first proposed, the Government is still just talking about a statutory home care scheme.

The waiting list in Cork is one of the worst in the country, according to Mr Musgrave with almost 1,000 people waiting for hours.

"Of those, 25% are waiting a year to get home care in Cork. That is madness. Half of them are waiting over six months," said Mr Musgrave.

If the Government truly believes that home care is a central plank to dealing with an ageing population and providing care where it is needed the most — close to home — then it needs to take it seriously, he said.

This requires the same accountability that the public are rightfully demanding from nursing homes, hospitals and children's services, Mr Musgrave said, adding that the independent sector will play a large role in reducing waiting lists but this will only work if people can be assured that there will be a quality of care.