Figures presented to the HSE’s Regional Health Forum show a decrease of 18% in the number of people awaiting home help services in Donegal.
At the end of August, 334 people were awaiting a home support service in the county, 221 of whom were awaiting the provision of a new service.
Officials acknowledged that Donegal faces specific problems because of its geography, and efforts are being made to address those.
Donegal Cllr Declan Meehan, who raised the issue, has welcomed the decrease, but says there is a long way to go before the challenges facing the county are addressed……….
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Reply –
As of 31st August 2025, 334 people were awaiting a home support service in Co. Donegal, a breakdown of which is
as follows;
• 221 of whom were awaiting the provision of a new home support service.
• 113 of whom were awaiting an increase to an existing home support service.
In August 2025, the Donegal Home Support Service delivered 129,000 hours to 2,266 service users, which can be broken down as follows;
• 110,682 hours (approx. 85.8%) were delivered by HSE HCAs.
• 18,334 hours (approx. 14.2%) were delivered by HCAs from private providers.
The demand for home support continues to increase with the level of individual need becoming more complex requiring on occasions the attendance of two HCAs. Recruitment for additional homecare assistants is ongoing and the HSE Home Support Service engages with existing and new private providers on a regular basis to ascertain their capacity to supplement HSE services.
There are multiple recruitment campaigns being run by all providers, with some companies having a designated recruiter which has resulted in increased capacity. While recruitment of HCAs continues to be a challenge for the HSE Home Support Service, it remains a service priority.
