Live-in Care in Meath
Fully managed live-in care across Meath 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 Meath
Across Meath, 5,651 people past 65 had a private home to themselves at the 2022 census. If your loved one is one of them, and home is out the road from Oldcastle or near Kilmainhamwood, there can be hours between one visit and the next with nobody else in the house. A live-in carer fills that gap. They take the spare room and are there from breakfast through to the evenings, when the place would otherwise be silent.
Most of the time it is the same primary carer, with a familiar back-up covering days off. That continuity counts in north-west Meath, where the next house can be out of sight across the fields and family may only manage the drive at weekends. A carer who knows the routine is well placed to notice when appetite drops or sleep changes.
Live-in care works in town too. Kells, Athboy and Trim have older age profiles than the commuter towns, and a live-in carer suits someone there who can no longer manage alone but wants to stay on a street they have known for decades.
The carers UIH sends have trained as healthcare assistants, have been Garda-vetted, and are UIH employees covered by UIH insurance. Where medication is concerned, the carer reminds and prompts. Injections, insulin and wound dressing sit outside what carers do, and anything else is cleared with your care manager first.
Live-in care across Meath
UIH can place a live-in carer anywhere in Meath, and the arrangement often makes most sense in the north and west of the county. That includes Oldcastle and the farmland below Loughcrew, Crossakeel and Carlanstown on the Kells side, and the northern villages of Kilmainhamwood, Nobber and Drumconrath. Homes in Navan and the commuter towns are covered too. Before care begins, your care manager goes over the carer's room and the running of the house with you.
Towns and areas we cover
Navan
Kells
Laytown
Dunshaughlin
Ashbourne
Dunboyne
Bettystown
Trim
Ratoath
Slane
HSE health region
HSE Dublin and North East
Main hospital
Our Lady's Hospital Navan
Also nearby
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda · Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown
GP out of hours
NEDOC
Growing older at home in Meath
Meath wraps around the north-west of Dublin and shares a border with seven counties, from Louth and Monaghan in the north to Kildare and Offaly in the south. The land is level for the most part, with fertile farms along the Boyne valley. Trim, Navan and Slane all stand on the river as it heads for Drogheda, and the ground rises most at Loughcrew near Oldcastle, where Slieve na Calliagh is Meath's highest point. In the east, a short stretch of Irish Sea coast takes in Laytown, Bettystown, Mornington and Donacarney.
Census 2022 counted 220,826 people in Meath, up 13.2% on 2016. Of these, 27,059 were 65 or older, or 12.3% of the county. The State figure is 15.1%, so Meath has a younger age profile than Ireland overall. Within the older group, 11,009 people were 75 or over and 2,541 were 85 or over.
That county average blurs a real split. Ratoath, Ashbourne and Dunboyne grew as Dublin commuter towns, and only 5.3% of Ratoath's residents are 65 or older. Kells sits at 14.2%, above the 13.8% figure for towns across the State, with Athboy and Trim close behind. For care at home, the split can mean distance. The family may be settled around Ashbourne or Dunboyne while their loved one lives on alone in a farmhouse outside Kells or Nobber, at the other end of the county.
Sources: HSE, NEDOC, CSO, Transport for Ireland, TFI Local Link, Citizens Information, Meath County Council, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Family Carers Ireland, thirdageireland.ie, ALONE. Checked 23 October 2026.
Local support in Meath alongside private care
Families arranging care in Meath can lean on these local services as well. They are run separately from UIH, and numbers and services can change, so check with each one directly.
- Meath County Council received WHO recognition as an Age Friendly County in 2019 and is working to its third Age Friendly Strategy, for 2023 to 2028. Its Healthy Age Friendly Homes coordinator carries out a home-based assessment and works with your loved one on supports that help them keep living there. A referral leaves existing home help, medical card and pension entitlements untouched. Ring 046 924 8899.
- The HSE Meath Home Support Office is at the St Joseph's Community Unit complex on Patrick Street, Trim (046 948 4406).
- TFI Local Link Louth Meath Fingal offers pre-bookable door-to-door services and a Hospital Bus to public hospitals in Dublin. Call 046 907 4830 or 1800 303 707.
- Citizens Information has centres in Ashbourne, Navan and Trim.
- Alzheimer Society of Ireland services in Meath include a free, confidential Dementia Adviser service and day centres at Whistlemount in Navan and in Oldcastle, which take referrals with a dementia diagnosis. Helpline 1800 341 341.
Setting up care after a hospital discharge in Meath
A long stay on a ward at Our Lady's Hospital Navan can take a lot out of someone, and coming back to an empty house is often the hardest part. Where nobody else lives in the house, a live-in carer is on hand for washing, meals, the stairs and medication prompts while their strength returns. Live-in care can follow a stay at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, in the same way. Ring before discharge day so the plan is in place, and we will work around the hospital team's advice.
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 Meath families choose us
A farmhouse near Kells or Nobber can be the length of the county from relatives in Ashbourne or Dunboyne, and a live-in carer means someone is there when they cannot be.
Your loved one's primary carer learns how the house near Oldcastle or Athboy runs, and a backup they have met steps in on the primary carer's days off.
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 Meath
Is live-in care in Meath eligible for tax relief?
In many cases, yes. Live-in care counts as private home care, so relief may be claimed on Form HK1 at your marginal rate, to a maximum of 40%. To check how the rules fit your own situation, contact the Citizens Information centre in Navan, Trim or Ashbourne, with current numbers on citizensinformation.ie, or our team can go over the claim with you on 0818 700 100.
Our loved one near Oldcastle has dementia. Could they keep attending a day centre with a live-in carer at home?
Yes, the two fit together well. The Alzheimer Society lists a day centre at the Health Centre in Oldcastle and another at Whistlemount on the Kells Road in Navan, and its Meath Dementia Advisers give free, confidential advice. On centre days the carer has your loved one up, ready and out the door, then settles them again once they are back. Getting there and back is worth talking through with your care manager.
Can you arrange care in the Meath Gaeltacht, at Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib?
Yes. UIH arranges home care throughout the 26 counties, Meath's two Gaeltacht areas among them. If Irish is the language your loved one is happiest in, say so when you first ring 0818 700 100, so it is part of the conversation about which carer would suit them.
Where are the nearest emergency departments for people in Meath?
The county's own acute hospital is Our Lady's Hospital Navan, and the HSE describes its emergency department as being for anyone aged 16 and older. Over the Louth border, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, has an emergency department for all ages and is nearer than Navan for east Meath towns such as Laytown, Bettystown, Duleek and Stamullen. For a medical emergency, dial 999 or 112.
We live in Ashbourne and our loved one is on their own outside Oldcastle. Can we arrange care from here?
Yes. Phone 0818 700 100 and a care manager will shape the plan with you and your loved one, and agree it with you both before anything begins. UIH arranges care in every corner of Meath, the north-west included. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
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.
Other care we arrange in Meath
Live-in Care in nearby counties
Live-in Care in Louth · Live-in Care in Monaghan · Live-in Care in Cavan · Live-in Care in Westmeath · Live-in Care in Offaly · Live-in Care in Kildare · Live-in Care in Dublin
