Live-in Care in Wicklow
Fully managed live-in care across Wicklow 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 Wicklow
Much of inland Wicklow is very thinly populated. Glenmalure, the Glen of Imaal and the hills around Laragh are far from any town. Once your loved one needs someone near at most hours, brief calls leave them alone for much of the day. Live-in care fills those hours by placing a trained healthcare assistant in the home, with a room of their own.
The same question comes up in the west of the county. Blessington and Baltinglass sit on the far side of the mountains from Wicklow town and Arklow. With a carer living in, the long drive round or over the hills only matters on changeover days.
One main carer lives in with your loved one, and a backup carer they have already met takes over during time off. Both are Garda-vetted, and both are employed and insured by UIH. Through the day the carer helps your loved one wash, dress, eat well and move safely around the house. Tablets get a reminder from the carer when they are due, and the GP and public health nurse look after insulin, injections and wound dressings.
Ahead of the first day, your care manager talks through where the carer will sleep and the small habits that make the house feel like home to your loved one.
Live-in care across Wicklow
Roundwood and Laragh in the hills, Aughrim, Tinahely and Shillelagh in the south, and Dunlavin and the Glen of Imaal on the western side all fall within UIH's live-in cover for County Wicklow. Because the carer stays in the house, distance from the nearest shop or surgery becomes far less of a worry for the family. Share the Eircode when you ring, and the care team will plan the carer's arrival and changeover days around the drive.
Towns and areas we cover
Bray
Arklow
Newtownmountkennedy
Greystones
Blessington
Delgany
Wicklow town
Rathdrum
Enniskerry
HSE health region
HSE Dublin and South East (west Wicklow: HSE Dublin and Midlands)
Main hospital
St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown
Also nearby
St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin 4 · St Michael's Hospital, Dún Laoghaire
GP out of hours
Edoc, Caredoc or KDOC, depending on the area
Growing older at home in Wicklow
The Wicklow Mountains fill the middle of the county, the largest continuous upland area in Ireland, so which side of them your loved one lives on shapes how care at home is set up. Most people live in the east, in the Dublin commuter belt through Bray, Greystones, Kilcoole and Newtownmountkennedy, and M11 upgrades have drawn growth south to Rathnew and Arklow.
The uplands hold very few people. Beyond foothill settlements such as Roundwood, Laragh, Rathdrum and Tinahely, homes are scattered through glacial valleys like Glenmalure and the Glen of Imaal. West Wicklow lies on the far side of the range from the coast, with Blessington its one large town and the N81 running south to Baltinglass. The R759 over the Sally Gap is not treated in winter and can become impassable.
Wicklow's population reached 155,851 at Census 2022, a rise of 9.4% in six years. That count found 23,661 people aged 65 or over, 15.2% of residents and just above the State's 15.1%. Older still, 10,120 had reached 75 and 2,344 had reached 85. In Dunlavin the older share was 19.0%, in Aughrim and Tinahely 16.5%, and in Rathnew only 7.3%.
Short visits are easiest to arrange along the coast and the N11. For a house up a valley or west of the mountains, travel time belongs in the plan from the first phone call.
Sources: HSE, CSO, stvincents.ie, naashospital.ie, tuh.ie, Edoc, Caredoc, KDoc, Transport for Ireland, TFI Local Link, Citizens Information, Age Friendly Ireland. Checked 23 October 2026.
Local support in Wicklow alongside private care
- TFI Local Link Carlow Kilkenny Wicklow runs rural routes such as the 183 from Arklow to Glendalough and the 885 from Baltinglass to Sallins, and eligible registered passengers can pre-book door-to-door trips by phone.
- Citizens Information has centres in Arklow and Bray, a virtual centre in Wicklow Town Library and a phone service on 0818 07 4000.
- Age Friendly Wicklow has a Healthy Age Friendly Homes coordinator who takes referrals for people aged 65 and over.
- The Alzheimer Society has dementia advisers for Wicklow and for Kildare and West Wicklow, day care in Rathdrum and Bray, and a helpline on 1800 341 341.
- Memory cafés and similar groups meet in Laragh, Wicklow town and Greystones, and the Memory Technology Resource Room at the Knockrobin primary care centre opens by appointment.
- ALONE has support coordinators for north-east, south-east and west Wicklow, and its national line, 0818 222 024, is open from 8am to 8pm every day.
- Wicklow families can reach Family Carers Ireland on 0404 33052, or on 1800 24 07 24 for the freephone Careline.
Phone numbers, timetables and opening times can change, so check with each service before relying on them.
Setting up care after a hospital discharge in Wicklow
Coming home from St Vincent's University Hospital in Elm Park to a house above Roundwood or up in Glencree is a big change in a single day. On a ward, staff are on hand around the clock, while a mountain home may have nobody nearer than the next farm. Talk to us while a going-home date is still being discussed. Arranging live-in care before your loved one leaves hospital means the carer's room can be ready and the first night back is covered.
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 Wicklow families choose us
Winter can close the untreated R759 over the Sally Gap, and a home in the Wicklow uplands is often better served by a carer who lives in than by daily trips over the hills.
Cover for your loved one in Tinahely or Shillelagh rests on a primary live-in carer, with a backup who already knows the house and routine stepping in for 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 Wicklow
Can a live-in carer manage in a house a long way up a Wicklow valley?
Yes. Once the carer has settled in, the drive up the valley stops being a daily concern. Your care manager asks about the carer's room, the route to the house and anything the household depends on, then plans changeovers with the backup carer around that. With the room ready and the route clear, live-in care for a home in the Wicklow hills usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Can Wicklow families get tax relief on live-in care?
They may. Whoever pays for live-in care in Wicklow may be able to claim tax relief of up to 40% at their marginal rate through Form HK1, since it counts as private home care. UIH is private and independent of the HSE, so you arrange care with us directly without an HSE assessment, and that holds just as much in west Wicklow, which comes under Kildare for HSE services, as it does in Arklow. Ask about the HK1 claim when you ring 0818 700 100.
Is west Wicklow in a different HSE health region from the rest of the county?
Partly. Most of Wicklow belongs to HSE Dublin and South East, but the HSE states that west county Wicklow continues to come under Kildare for health services, and Kildare is part of HSE Dublin and Midlands. The link shows in local services. KDoc, the GP out-of-hours service based in Naas and Celbridge, has member surgeries in Blessington and Dunlavin, and ALONE groups west Wicklow with south Kildare for its support coordination. UIH is private, so arranging care works the same way on both sides of the mountains.
Which hospitals do families in different parts of Wicklow deal with?
It varies by area. From the north-east, the nearest hospitals are in south Dublin. St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin 4 has an emergency department, and St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown has an injury unit that treats people aged 14 and over, open from 8am to 7pm each day at the time of writing, so check the hours before you go. St Michael's Hospital in Dún Laoghaire belongs to the same St Vincent's group. Naas General Hospital says it serves Kildare and West Wicklow, and for homes around Carnew and Shillelagh, Wexford General Hospital is closer than the Dublin hospitals. Whichever hospital your loved one is leaving, UIH can arrange care at home in Bray, Blessington, Arklow or anywhere else in the county.
Can you reach a house in Glendalough, Glenmalure or the Glen of Imaal?
Yes. UIH covers all 26 counties, and in Wicklow that includes the valleys and foothill villages in the middle of the county. Give the Eircode on your first call so the care team can work out how a carer gets to the house and how long the trip takes. If daily drives in and out look impractical, a live-in carer who stays in the house may suit your loved one better.
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.
