HSE Home Support: how it works, and what we know about waiting

• The HSE Home Support Service is intended to help older people stay living in their own homes for as long as possible.

• The older person service is for people aged 65 or over who may need help to keep living at home or to return home after a hospital stay. The HSE says people under 65 may also qualify in some cases, for example people with early onset dementia or a disability.

  Access depends on a needs assessment, not on age alone.

• Support can cover everyday tasks such as getting in and out of bed, dressing and undressing, and personal care such as showering or shaving. The type of support depends on the person's assessed needs.

• The service may be provided directly by HSE staff or by an HSE-approved provider.

• The HSE states that the Home Support Service is free, that a medical card is not needed to apply, and that income is not checked. Anyone who wants more home support than the HSE offers pays for that additional care themselves.

1. 1A person can apply while at home, while in hospital, or while in a nursing home and wanting to return home.

2. 2The application form can be obtained online or from the local Home Support Office, and the completed form is posted to that office. The form can be completed by the person themselves, or by someone else on their behalf, including a family member, GP, nurse or another registered healthcare professional.

   There is a direct application route through the local Home Support Office — a referral from a particular professional is not described as the only way in.

3. 3For someone in hospital, current HSE guidance is to ask the person managing the discharge plan for a home support application form, and to ask as early as possible during the stay to help avoid delays going home.

   Asking early is sensible, but it is not a guarantee of a faster decision or a faster start.

4. 4Consumer Directed Home Support can be requested when applying. If it is approved, the HSE confirms a weekly amount of funding in writing and the person arranges their support with one or more HSE-approved providers of their choice.

   Whether it is approved, and what is available locally, is decided through the HSE process.

Official HSE guidance on how to apply, including the application form

• A completed application leads to a needs assessment, usually carried out by a healthcare professional such as a public health nurse, physiotherapist or occupational therapist. The HSE then writes to the person with the outcome of the application.

• Current HSE guidance says that if an application is not approved, the person can write to their local Home Support Office within 20 days of getting the decision letter, explaining why they are not satisfied, and the decision will be reviewed.

  This is the guidance published on the date shown, not a permanent rule. Check the official page before relying on the timeframe.

• If circumstances change — health improves, or the person is admitted to hospital, goes into respite, or stays with family — the person or someone acting for them should contact the local Home Support Office, and the support they receive will be reviewed.

Official HSE guidance on what happens after you apply

• The service may be provided directly by HSE staff or by an HSE-approved provider.
• HSE-approved providers must meet national standards based on HIQA standards, can only charge the rates agreed with the HSE, and cannot add extra fees.

The HSE publishes its approved-provider lists by area as documents on its own website. We link them rather than copying them, because a list we copied could be out of date the day after we did. We do not rank providers and we cannot tell you which of them currently has capacity — the local office and the providers themselves can.

HSE — Choosing an approved home support provider

The most recent figures we have verified come from the HSE's own response to a parliamentary question. They count people who have been assessed and are waiting for a carer to be assigned, as at 30 April 2026.

Assessed and waiting for a carer to be assigned

5,414

New service users

2,220

Already receiving home support, waiting for additional hours to commence

3,194

Preliminary, subject to change. Figures refer to 30 April 2026 and were published on 17 June 2026. The HSE describes the data as preliminary. For this date, the same reply states that no people nationally were waiting on funding to be allocated.

Official HSE response document (PDF)

Figures count people assessed and waiting for a carer to be assigned, split into new service users and existing recipients waiting for additional hours to commence. The HSE describes the data as preliminary and subject to change, states that no people were waiting on funding to be allocated at this date, and states that it does not currently collate waiting times.

Two different things are often reported as one number: people who have been assessed and approved but have never received a service, and people already receiving home support who are approved for more hours than they get. Adding them together produces a bigger headline and a less useful fact.

Figures are also published at different dates, on different definitions, for areas that do not match county boundaries. HSE regions and older CHO areas cover several counties, so a regional figure is not a county figure.