TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has accused the government of perpetrating yet another betrayal of many of our older citizens by their continued failure to provide vital home help hours. A response from the HSE to Teachta Crowe showed that waiting lists are continuing to spiral out of control, with 1,140 people now on waiting lists in the CHO7 area, which covers the Dublin South West area.
Teachta Crowe said: “There are 1,140 of our older citizens waiting for Home Help hours in the CHO7 area out of a national total of 6,982. This is an area that takes in Dublin South West. “At this stage in my life, I am beyond tired of receiving responses from the Government and the HSE that always say the same thing; that Dublin South West is one of the most deprived areas in the country when it comes supports and access to vital services. “Whether it is home help hours for older people, disability assessments for our young children, employment, education attainment, Dublin South West and many of its most able residents continue to be left behind.
“This response is a betrayal of our older citizens who want to stay in their own homes in their later years and is simply not acceptable on any level. “It doesn’t make any sense when you consider that the provision of home help hours keeps people at home, improves their quality of life, and prevents them from ending up in hospitals or being forced to take up residence in nursing homes. “Home help supports and facilitates independent living. “We saw clearly how little the outgoing government did to prevent COVID-19 from ravaging many of our local nursing homes. Now, we see that they propose to do even less to help some of our most vulnerable senior citizens keep safe in their own homes.”
