Politics

€700m home care budget fails to dent waiting figures

HSE plans to require private providers to pay travel time to their staff and secure work permits for carers from non-EU countries

Mary Butler, the Minister of State for older people, said she was addressing the shortage of home care workers in the country. Picture: Fergal Phillips

The number of people waiting for home help hours has risen to 6,000 despite record state funding, the Business Post has learned.

The home care budget has risen from €288 million in 2014 to €700 million this year. Despite this, the latest figures from the Department of Health show there are 3,240 new applicants waiting for new home help hours, and another 2,819 people waiting for their existing home help hours to be increased.

The ...