Labour Councillor Lettie McCarthy has said there are too many people on a waiting last for home support in the Dublin Rathdown area.
Citing experiences with constituents who are languishing on a waiting list for home support, McCarthy said “Ireland’s care system just isn’t working under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.”
“We can keep people in their own homes for much longer with a little care and support. It is completely unfair to separate aging couples due to the fact that home help isn’t available.”
“So many people can continue to live in their own familiar, comfortable homes if they are provided with a little help for their personal care and the basics,” she said.
McCarthy stated “how we care for older people should be a marker of a prosperous society.”
“Home support, delivered by home carers improves outcomes for older people by keeping people well and safe at home for longer, and is essential for freeing up acute hospital beds, yet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael seem committed to eroding, rather than expanding, Ireland’s care system.”
McCarthy went on the offensive against the governing parties, citing the fact that in July of this year, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil cut home support by 1.9 million hours.
She lamented the fact the hours were cut, as it was in the context of people in my own area are waiting for home help support, with 6,020 people waiting nationally.
“This decision is regressive. We already can’t support and care for the people who need it most, and we know that the demand for home help support is ever-increasing. Comparing the number of those seeking home help support in the first six months of 2022 and 2023, we see a 3.7% increase in people needing care. “
“Government can’t just continue to put its head in the sand. We need to prepare for an ageing population by investing in care, and specifically in care workers. Fully funding home help hours is also essential for tackling the crisis in our hospitals.”
“There are over 18,000 home carers, but only 5,300 of these are directly employed by the HSE meaning the majority of carers are working in the private sector where wages, terms and conditions are much worse.”
McCarthy went on to claim that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have created an unfair, two-tier approach to care workers meaning that many people in are carrying out the same work, for the same hours, but are paid less if they are employed by the private sector rather than the HSE directly.”
Calling the situation “wrong,” she said “we need to treat our carers fairly and continue to expand our care capacity today for the future. Improved pay and conditions are essential for supporting our older people in the community.”
“People from Dublin Rathdown who work hard their whole life deserve proper care as they age.”