Cork North West Fine Gael TD John Paul O’Shea has welcomed a reduction in the number of people waiting for home support in the HSE South West Health Region, but has called for continued action to reduce waiting lists right across the country.
New figures provided to Deputy O’Shea in response to Parliamentary Questions show that the number of people in the HSE South West waiting to have home support hours commence has fallen from 1,025 in 2025 to 884 as of 31 July 2026.
Deputy O’Shea said the reduction was welcome, but stressed that there is still considerable work to be done to ensure people receive the support they need to remain living independently in their own homes.
“It is welcome to see that the number of people waiting for home support in the HSE South West has fallen from 1,025 last year to 884 this year. While this is a marginal improvement, we cannot lose sight of the fact that almost 900 people in our region are still waiting for home support to commence.
“Home support plays a vital role in helping older people and those with care needs to remain living safely and with dignity in their own homes. For many families, these supports are absolutely essential.
“The figures provided to me also show that nationally there are 5,425 people waiting for a carer to be assigned, including 2,148 people waiting to receive a new service and a further 3,277 existing service users waiting for additional hours.
“These numbers remain far too high. I recognise that demand for home support is increasing as our population ages, but that makes it even more important that we plan ahead and ensure sufficient resources are available.
“I welcome the progress made in the South West, but we need to see that progress accelerated and replicated across every HSE Health Region.
“The HSE need to continue investing in home support, increasing capacity and ensuring that people are not left waiting unnecessarily for the hours of care that they have been assessed as needing.
“Supporting people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible is better for individuals, better for families and can also reduce pressure on our hospitals and long-term residential care system.
“I will continue to monitor these figures and press for further reductions in the waiting lists, both in the South West and nationally.”
Home Support wait list as of July 2026
