Providers of home care services called for reform amid crisis

Providers of homecare services have called for reform of the sector to address pay and conditions and a growing shortage of staff.

Representative bodies have also told TDs and Senators while the average wage of care givers is below the “living wage”, they would like to see it rise and are cooperating with a Government cross departmental task force, which is looking at pay and conditions in the service.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Committee on Health, a range of charitable homecare providers said reform was long over due in the sector and called for the Government to ensure standardised pay and conditions across the HSE and its contractors.

Committee chairman Sean Crowe said there was a severe decline in the numbers of people working as care givers and a lack of self worth among those who remained.

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Gino Kenny asked the committee to consider “why are people getting out of the sector”.

“It is usually pay and conditions”, he said.

Siptu sector organiser Damian Ginley told the Committee improved conditions of employment were necessary to meet an anticipated growth of 48 per cent in the need for homecare, over the next two decades, due to the aging population.

Improved conditions of employment were necessary to meet an anticipated growth of 48 per cent in the need for homecare, over the next two decades, due to the aging population.

Catherine Keogh of Forsa said the “gold standard” in the service was to work for the HSE as opposed to the private sector. But she said the HSE had a great difficulty with delays in recruiting staff.

John Lehart said the private sector was known to charge some €32 per hour for the services of a care worker, while paying care workers rates between €10.50 and €12 per hour.

Joseph Mulgrave of the Home Care Coalition Ireland, a coalition of charities and not-for-profit organisations, said the actual amount charged was about €27 per hour and average pay was about €12.80 per hour. He said while €12.80 was paid to the workers, about the same again went to costs such as back office, insurance etc. The breakdown was similar to the HSE in that the HSE may pay about 16 to 18 euro per hour and a similar amount went towards costs.

Liam O’Sullivan of Care Alliance Ireland said over three years on from the organisation making submissions to the Health Committee “progress in the area of homecare regulation has been slow”.

Adrienne McAvinue a homecare coordinator with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland estimated that the 64,000 people with dementia will more than double to over 150,000 by 2045. The need for services is growing, she said.

Catherine Cox of the charity Family Carers Ireland called on the Government to provide additional supports to help family carers face the rising cost-of-living crisis.

“As energy prices soar and households across Ireland face increased fuel and household bills, many family carers will be simply unable to cope without urgent measures” she said.

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of stress and financial worries piled on family carers. Many were already struggling to manage and the increases in energy bills and cost of living could push them into financial difficulty leaving some facing extremely difficult decisions” she said.