Debate contribution: Home Care Provision

Debate contribution by Ms Aoife Finnegan on 12 May 2026.

MLA

Ms Aoife Finnegan

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

12 May 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Home Care Provision

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5528676

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Some very important points have been made on the motion. Important comments have also been made across the House by a party that seems to have forgotten that it, too, sits on the Executive. That seems like a major deflection from taking responsibility. I support the motion, which highlights the very real pressures facing home care services across rural constituencies, such as my constituency of Newry and Armagh. One issue that is increasingly raised in my constituency office is the real struggle that families face in trying to secure appropriate care packages for loved ones who simply want to remain living at home safely and independently. For families across south Armagh and the rural parts of Newry and Armagh, that challenge is particularly severe. In recent months, I have met care workers from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, along with providers and agencies, including Enable Care, who voiced their concerns about the growing pressures on the sector. They spoke about workforce shortages, the increasing demands that raise operational costs and, critically, the additional burden of delivering care in large rural areas. In those rural areas, care workers often travel 40 miles or 50 miles on a single run to reach vulnerable people living in isolated communities. They travel long distances on rural roads in all weather conditions to try to ensure that people receive the support and dignity that they absolutely deserve. That cannot continue to be ignored. This has been an issue for some time. When providers cannot recruit or retain staff, or when the delivery of rural packages becomes financially unsustainable, it is vulnerable people and their families who suffer the consequences. Carers have recently told me that, when they calculate their wages and travel costs, they are not even making minimum wage, and —

— they simply cannot —. Yes, go ahead.

Thank you for that. I appreciate the points made in the intervention, and I agree that it needs to be sorted as a matter of urgency. As has been said, patients who are medically fit to leave hospital remain there because a suitable care package for them cannot be sourced. Families are exhausted trying to fill the gaps themselves. Older carers, many of whom have health conditions of their own, carry enormous responsibility without the support that they need. Home care workers provide an invaluable service in communities across the North. They help people to wash, dress, eat, take medication and maintain their independence, but they also provide companionship and a human connection to people who may otherwise be isolated and alone. Sometimes, care workers are the only people whom an individual sees day to day, yet, despite the essential nature of its work, the sector continues to face major recruitment and retention difficulties. That is why the commitment to introduce the real living wage for social care workers must be delivered on. If we are serious about protecting our health service, reducing the pressure on hospitals and supporting people to live independently for longer, we must be serious about investing to future-proof our home care sector. We must truly recognise the additional challenges faced by rural communities, such as those in Newry and Armagh, where geography and travel distances place a further strain on an already overstretched service. Echoing comments that have been made here today, I record my sincere appreciation of every home care worker across our community for the incredible work that they do every day. However, appreciation alone is not enough. The workers deserve to have fair pay, proper support and a system that values the essential role that they play in caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

614 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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