Reported home care restrictions being considered by the HSE could leave many disabled and older people unable to live safely at home, Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide has warned.
Deputy Quaide, who is the party’s spokesperson on disability, said:
“The proposed restrictions on home care supports in Dublin South City and West, Dublin South West and Kildare/West Wicklow – contained in an internal HSE circular – are brutal and shortsighted.
“If these measures are implemented, people who have already been assessed as having high levels of need may now be told they will not be approved for new or additional home support unless their need is deemed both critical and urgent, or that they require palliative end of life care.
“That is an extraordinary threshold to set. It means the HSE is effectively saying that people must be allowed to deteriorate to crisis point before the State will respond.
“Home care is often the difference between a person being able to get out of bed, wash, dress, eat, take medication safely, use the toilet, and remain in their own home with dignity.
“The reported 14-hour weekly cap on home support packages is completely detached from the reality facing many older people, disabled people and their families. For some, 14 hours a week will not come close to meeting even basic personal care needs.
“Aside from the human cost, these restrictions will not save money in any meaningful sense. They will simply move the pressure elsewhere – into hospitals, emergency departments and nursing homes – because the supports that would have kept people safe at home are being withheld or capped.
“It is especially concerning that disabled people under-65 also appear to be caught by these restrictions. The Government is on the one hand promoting independent living and community integration while allowing the HSE to ration basic home supports below the bare minimum.
“This is another example of a health service operating by crisis threshold rather than by need. People are left waiting until their situation becomes unsafe, families are pushed to breaking point, and then the State pays far more for emergency or institutional responses.
“The Minister for Health and the HSE must urgently clarify whether this reported circular will be implemented; exactly what areas it applies to; whether similar restrictions are being applied elsewhere; and what immediate steps will be taken to ensure that people assessed as needing home care actually receive it.
“Home care should be planned, funded and delivered as an essential public service – not treated as a discretionary support that can be restricted when budgets come under pressure.
“These cuts are a false economy. The HSE is spending vast sums on agency staffing because of failures in workforce planning, while basic home supports are now reportedly being restricted for older and disabled people who need assistance to live safely at home – that is a broken model of care.”
July 1, 2026