A quick guide to paying for Home Care Costs in Ireland

If you want to stay in your own home for as long as you possibly can but require help on a day to day basis, Home Care services may be the correct option for your needs. There are a large number of home care / domiciliary care agencies that provide a number of services to help meet your needs.

The list of services available range from daily 30 minute call visits to help with dressing, personal care, light house work, shopping and help with medication to overnight care or 24 hour live in support.

To get help with the cost of your care, the first thing to do is apply for Home Support Services. It is important to get this done before you start paying for care because you may not qualify for help with costs if you dont.

Step 1: Apply for Home Support Services

This is completely free of charge and is provided by the HSE. An assessment will be made about your needs and recommendations for support will be made in a care plan. Depending on your needs the HSE could recommend help from a career, changes to your home to assist mobility or moving to a care home.

You can apply for home support services at the following locations :

Information about Home Support Services
Apply for Home Support Services

Step 2: Costs

The Home Support Service is free, you do not need a medical card and your income will not be assessed. It is open to anyone over the age of 65. It's important to note that if you use carers above your funding amount, you will need to pay the difference yourself.

Step 3: Choose a Home Care Provider

You have the right to choose the home care provider you wish to use. The cost varies depending on your location and the care required. Hourly rates can be between €20 -€30 per hour and can usually be split into 30 minute visits, so you could have 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening if required or longer visits if needed.

Some people may require overnight care, which is often at a different rate and some may require full time live-in care, again at a different rate depending on the care provider.

It is worth searching for a list of local home care providers on www.bestcarecompare.com, see what services they provide and call the providers you are interested in for rates and care plan options.

BestCareCompare