Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 May 2023
590. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the measures in place to alleviate the crisis in home care services delivery; the new initiatives that are being proposed to resolve the staffing shortages in this sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21256/23]
View answerIn order to examine the significant workforce challenges in the home-support and nursing home sectors in Ireland, Minister Butler established the cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group in March 2022. Working closely with key stakeholders, the Advisory Group made 16 recommendations to address the challenges in frontline carer roles in the home support and long-term residential care sectors.
Their report was published in October 2022 with 16 recommendations across the areas of recruitment, pay and conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training and professional development, sectoral reform, and monitoring and implementation.
Minister Butler has endorsed the Advisory Group’s recommendations and is committed to their implementation as a priority. Implementation of the recommendations will be overseen by a cross departmental Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Health. The Department is engaging with recommendation owners to define an implementation plan.
A detailed implementation plan will be published containing steps involved in delivering the recommendations in the coming months. It is envisaged that the implementation group will meet quarterly and publish progress reports thereafter.
Implementation has commenced. The first recommendation no. 9 was implemented in December 2022 with the announcement of the authorisation of 1,000 employment permits for non-EU/EEA home support workers. This promises to significantly reduce the current shortage of care workers in Ireland. The process for applying for this is through a Labour Market Needs test.
