Home Help Service Dail Éireann — 2026-01-28 ============================================================ John Paul O'Shea (FG), Cork North-West I thank the Minister of State very much for his keen interest in this matter. I would appreciate if he could follow up with the HSE in Cork in respect of it. Investment in the home support is an investment in dignity, well-being and independence for thousands of people. It is also an investment in a more efficient health system that supports people earlier, prevents avoidable illness and ensures better use of our limited hospital capacity. Home support workers must be valued, supported and recognised for the essential front-line role they play. They deserve for fair pay, sustainable working conditions and the resources necessary to carry out their jobs effectively. There was a campaign to recruit home help support workers in Cork in July. As of 11 November, when the responses had been assessed, the HSE in Cork had identified 64 potential candidates but not one new home support worker was in place. That is not acceptable when there is such a long waiting list. Over 1,000 people in Cork and Kerry are waiting for home supports. Some 64 candidates were identified in the period between July and November but they have not been appointed. The principle here is simple. It is not a funding issue; it is a resource issue. People should be supported to live at home for as long as possible. The State must ensure that the supports required are available to them when needed, not months later. Home support is one of the most empowering, cost-effective and socially valuable services that we provide in this country. Strengthening it must be a priority for the Government. It must also be a priority for the HSE and all of us going forward. I welcome the Minister of State's intervention. I encourage him to make contact with the HSE in Cork and to improve the situation. As public representatives, we cannot continue to have a situation whereby home help requests come in and action in respect of them is still not taken six months later. I would appreciate the Minister of State's support on this matter. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-28/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-28