HOW TO HIRE · CARE & SUPPORT

Hiring a carer in Ireland
CQC registration for the regulated activity of personal care is the law. Here is how to check it.

18 guides for hiring carers in Ireland, each one checked against the regulator, the statute or the official consumer guidance, with the sources and the month at the end. What to check, what to ask, what a fair quote looks like and what you should be handed when the job is done.

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18 guides. Pick the job you are hiring for.

Grouped the way you would ask for them. Every guide covers the checks, the questions and the quote for that job — then takes you to the carers who cover your area.

Upkeep. You book a person for a set number of hours and they do what you ask: there is no scope and no quote, just the rate, the hours and the list.

Skilled, deep and specialist work. These are priced as a job, not as an hour, because they need equipment, a method or a team — and the quote is the thing to compare.

Upkeep. You book a person for a set number of hours and they do what you ask: there is no scope and no quote, just the rate, the hours and the list.

Skilled, deep and specialist work. These are priced as a job, not as an hour, because they need equipment, a method or a team — and the quote is the thing to compare.

Upkeep. You book a person for a set number of hours and they do what you ask: there is no scope and no quote, just the rate, the hours and the list.

Skilled, deep and specialist work. These are priced as a job, not as an hour, because they need equipment, a method or a team — and the quote is the thing to compare.

What every care & support guide covers

The checks before you book

The CQC register, Criminal record checks — DBS (England and Wales), PVG (Scotland), AccessNI (Northern Ireland) and employer's liability and public liability for an agency, and trader status under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 — each guide says which of them applies to its own job.

The questions worth asking

Six to eight questions for the job — what is included, who actually comes, what happens if something is damaged — each with what a good answer from a carer sounds like.

What a fair quote looks like

What the written quote should contain, the warning signs, and what you should be handed when the job is done — the invoice, and the sign-off where the job produces one.

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Care & Support businesses on Locufy, across the UK

The most-reviewed carers listed with us. Enter your town above to see the ones that cover you.

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How these guides are made

Checked at the sourceEvery legal, safety or qualification point is taken from the regulator or the statute itself, linked in the guide's sources with the month it was reviewed.
IndependentNo provider is named or recommended. The guides describe what to look for; the search shows who is near you, nearest first.
Kept currentEach guide shows the month it was last reviewed. When a rule changes, the guides it affects are updated and the date moves with them.

Questions people ask

Yes, for the work this register covers. CQC registration for the regulated activity of personal care is required by law, run by Care Quality Commission (CQC). Each guide links to the register so you can check a name against it before you book.

The work itself, what is not included, the materials, the call-out if there is one, the dates, and the total with VAT shown separately. In writing before anyone starts — a message on Locufy counts.

An invoice with the trader's name and address, a note of any guarantee and how long it runs, and — where materials were supplied — their own warranties. Check the work against the written scope before anyone leaves.

Say what is wrong in writing first: under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a service must be carried out with reasonable skill and care, and work that is not must be put right. If that fails, the Small Claims procedure handles consumer claims up to £10,000 (small claims track) in England and Wales, £5,000 (simple procedure) in Scotland and £5,000 (small claims court) in Northern Ireland.

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All 19 categories →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. CQC — personal care (regulated activity)
  2. Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, schedule 1
  3. CQC — search home care agencies
  4. Care Inspectorate Wales — guide to registration under the 2016 Act
  5. mygov.scot — how care is regulated
  6. mygov.scot — care service inspection reports
  7. Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, schedule 12
  8. RQIA — registration guidance
  9. RQIA — register of services
  10. RQIA — legislation and standards
  11. gov.uk — DBS checks: levels and who can request one
  12. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  13. mygov.scot — PVG for personal assistants, the self-employed and people working for an individual
  14. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  15. gov.uk — Attendance Allowance
  16. nidirect — Attendance Allowance
  17. mygov.scot — Pension Age Disability Payment
  18. gov.uk — apply for direct payments
  19. nidirect — direct payments
  20. gov.uk — Welfare services and goods (VAT Notice 701/2)
  21. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  22. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  23. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  24. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  25. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  26. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)