Live-in Care in Kerry
Fully managed live-in care across Kerry from Garda-vetted, experienced and insured carers — with someone in place within a few days.
Care usually starts within days, with no HSE assessment queue
Garda-vetted carers, employed and insured by us
One primary carer, with a familiar backup
4.8/5 on Google and 5/5 on Bark
What happens next
We call you back
Someone from our care team rings you to talk through what’s needed and answer your questions.
A short conversation
Which days and hours would help, what has got harder at home, and anything we should know about your loved one.
We match a carer
Garda-vetted, employed and insured by us. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Two ways to arrange live-in care
Flex
A carer lives in the home and provides your agreed active care hours through the day, plus the reassurance of a carer resting in the home overnight.
Constant
A small team of carers provides cover around the clock, so someone is awake and on hand day and night. It suits higher-dependency needs.
What do our live-in carers help with?
Everyday support that keeps life at home going.
Medication
Housekeeping
Overnight Help
Personal care
Meal Prep
Companionship
How live-in care works in Kerry
Living alone is more common among older people in Kerry than in Ireland generally. In 2022 that meant 7,773 people over 65 living on their own, or 28.3% of the age group in private households, where the rate for the State was 25.9%. Among the over-85s it rose to 44.6%. Some of those homes are at the far end of a peninsula road, such as a farmhouse above Ballinskelligs Bay, a cottage outside Ballyferriter or a house on the Beara side of Kenmare Bay out towards Lauragh.
When the nearest neighbour is across the fields and family are in Cork, Dublin or further, a couple of short calls a day can leave long stretches with nobody in the house. Live-in care puts someone there from waking until bedtime, and close by through the night. Your loved one has one main carer living in, and when that carer takes days off, a backup they already know takes over.
Day to day, the carer helps your loved one wash and dress and cooks the dinners they like. On long winter evenings by the coast, there is someone in the house to talk to. The carer keeps track of when tablets are due and gives a reminder. Injections, wound dressings and insulin sit outside the carer's role and remain with your loved one's GP and public health nurse, and the care manager talks through anything else before care begins.
Live-in care across Kerry
Live-in care can be arranged anywhere in Kerry, and it comes into its own where daily visits are hard to keep up. That includes Glenbeigh and Waterville on Iveragh, Ballyferriter at the western end of Corca Dhuibhne, Valentia Island, and the north Kerry villages of Ballylongford and Tarbert. In the bigger towns it suits someone who needs another person in the house at night as well as during the day.
Towns and areas we cover
Tralee
Dingle
Kenmare
Killarney
Killorglin
Cahersiveen
Listowel
Castleisland
HSE health region
HSE South West
Main hospital
University Hospital Kerry, Tralee
Also nearby
Cork University Hospital, Cork city
GP out of hours
SouthDoc
Growing older at home in Kerry
Kerry reaches into the Atlantic in long peninsulas. Corca Dhuibhne, the Dingle peninsula, runs furthest west. The Ring of Kerry circles Iveragh, with the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest peak, at its centre, and the Kerry side of Beara faces it across Kenmare Bay. Valentia Island, off Iveragh's tip, has a village at Knightstown. Corca Dhuibhne and Uíbh Ráthach are Gaeltacht areas.
Only two Kerry towns passed 5,000 people at Census 2022, in a county of 156,458. Tralee, the county town, had 26,079 and Killarney 14,412. Listowel came next at 4,794, then Kenmare, Castleisland, Killorglin and Dingle, none above 2,600.
Over-65s grew three times as fast as the population overall. There were 29,567 people aged 65 and over in 2022, 18% more than in 2016, while the total population rose by 6%. That is 18.9% of the county, where the national figure is 15.1%. The share was 16.3% in Tralee and 16.1% in Killarney, and much higher in Tarbert (30.6%), Waterville (24.9%) and Cahersiveen (23.4%).
Many of the oldest places are a long drive from Tralee or Killarney, at the end of a coast road on Iveragh or in a north Kerry village by the Shannon Estuary. Arranging care at home there starts with the carer's travel and how close family and the GP are, which can change from one parish to the next.
Sources: HSE, uhk.ie, SouthDoc, CSO, TFI Local Link, Citizens Information, Kerry County Council, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Family Carers Ireland, ALONE. Checked 23 October 2026.
Local support in Kerry alongside private care
Families in Kerry also lean on the services below, each run independently of UIH. Their numbers and hours can change, so check first.
- TFI Local Link Kerry runs more than 150 regular bus routes reaching over 90 towns and villages. Many services can turn off the route by up to two miles to collect passengers at their door, and door-to-door seats are booked on 066 714 7002.
- Citizens Information keeps centres in Tralee, Killarney and Cahersiveen for questions about entitlements and forms, with a phone service on 0818 07 4000 on weekdays.
- Age Friendly Kerry is run by Kerry County Council from Library Place, Killorglin (066 979 6713). Kerry's Older People's Council speaks for older people across the county.
- The Alzheimer Society of Ireland runs day care at the Rosemary Day Centre in Tralee, Alzheimer Cafés in Killarney and Kenmare, memory technology rooms in Tralee and Killarney, and a Kerry Dementia Adviser, backed by a national helpline on 1800 341 341.
- Family Carers Ireland gives Kerry carer support on 066 710 7357, and ALONE offers befriending and a support line on 0818 222 024.
Setting up care after a hospital discharge in Kerry
Coming home from University Hospital Kerry in Tralee to a house on Iveragh or Corca Dhuibhne is daunting for someone who lives alone. With live-in care, another person is in the house from the first evening back. The same holds after treatment at Cork University Hospital, the tertiary referral centre for Kerry's main hospital, or a stay in West Kerry Community Hospital in Dingle. The earlier we hear a likely date, the easier those first days are to plan, and care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Why families choose United Irish Healthcare
We employ, vet and insure every carer, and we arrange cover ourselves when your carer takes leave. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner, and your loved one has one primary carer with a familiar backup.
Why Kerry families choose us
Near the far end of Iveragh, a home in Waterville or Cahersiveen can be a long drive from family in Tralee, and a live-in carer fills the days between their visits.
With one primary live-in carer and a familiar backup, changeovers at a home in Glenbeigh or on Valentia Island are few and planned ahead, which suits Kerry's long drives.
What families say
United Irish Healthcare have been beyond any of my expectations. UIH had us sorted in a matter of hours. I cannot thank Daniel, Olivia and Jean enough — highly recommend.
Doireann Kate Gough
We use UIH for night care for our Mam. The staff have been fantastic — it is very personal and she is comfortable with her carers.
Orla Daly
For the last 8 months Mum has had two very kind carers fulfilling her wish to stay in her own home. The peace of mind is well worth it.
Verified Google review
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a setup or placement fee?
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Yes. A one-time placement fee covers the work of assigning your carer and setting up the placement. Your care manager includes it in your quote, and a replacement carer never costs extra.
Can I decide which days and hours the carer works?
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Yes, you can specify the days and hours in accordance with your package. The number of days is flexible; a 24/7 package means a carer is available every day of the week.
Will I have the same carer consistently?
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Yes. You will have a designated primary carer, available except when on leave, on holiday, or unwell — when a reliable secondary carer familiar to the family and client steps in.
Does the carer have to live in the home full time?
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No. Our carers have their own homes and may return to them when they are off duty.
Questions about live-in care in Kerry
Can a live-in carer stay with our loved one on Valentia Island?
Yes. Valentia is part of Kerry and covered like anywhere else in the county. Because the carer lives in the house, there is no daily trip on and off the island to plan. Before care starts, you and the care manager can work out the practical side, from the weekly shop to how the backup carer reaches the island on changeover days.
We pay for live-in care for our loved one in Killarney. Can we claim tax relief?
Families who pay for private home care, which includes live-in care from UIH, may claim relief at their marginal rate, up to 40%, through Form HK1. The rules are the same across the country, so a Killarney address changes nothing. Ring 0818 700 100 to go through the details.
Does UIH cover the far ends of the Kerry peninsulas?
Yes. UIH covers all 26 counties, and in Kerry that runs from Ballybunion and Tarbert in the north to Ballyferriter on Corca Dhuibhne, Portmagee on Iveragh and Lauragh on the Kerry side of Beara. Out at the end of a peninsula the practical side needs more thought, and the care team will work through travel and cover for days off with you at the start.
Our loved one speaks Irish at home in the Gaeltacht. Can that be taken into account?
Mention it in the first conversation. For someone who has lived their whole life through Irish in Corca Dhuibhne or Uíbh Ráthach, language matters a great deal, and the care manager will be straightforward with you about what can be arranged in your loved one's area before a carer is introduced.
Which HSE region is Kerry in?
Kerry is in HSE South West, the health region for Kerry and Cork. University Hospital Kerry in Tralee is the county's main acute hospital, with a 24-hour emergency department, and Cork University Hospital is its tertiary referral centre. UIH sits outside that structure as a private provider, though our carers keep in step with your loved one's GP, public health nurse and the team at the hospital.
Up to 40%
home-carer tax relief at your marginal rate
Relief is claimed on Form HK1 at your marginal rate. Always check your position with Revenue.
