New figures show the waiting list for HSE homecare has risen to nearly 8,000.

The list has grown by almost 500 in the space of five months.

Last summer the number of people waiting for home-support soared, with 7,346 on the list in July.

New figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show the sharp increase continued over the remainder of the year.

On December 31st, there were 7,819 waiting for home-help hours.

That includes more than 900 people in both Wexford and Dublin North West and 554 in Clare.

Mairead Hayes is from the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament.

“I think it is disappointing that the figures are up and I think it is something that needs to be worked on,” she said.

“The position is that, for a lot of people, this is their first serious interaction with the provision of services as they age and, if it is a good one, then it can be good for the person – but also good for the services because they get to know the person and they are in the system.”

The HSE said many of the people on the waiting list are already in receipt of home-support and are waiting for additional hours.