The IHCP emphasised that the 78p figure represents an increase to the tariff rate paid to providers, not a 78p pay rise for carers.
From that tariff, providers must a variety of costs including wages, employer National Insurance contributions, statutory sick pay costs, supervision, insurance and travel expenses.
Pauline Shepherd, chief executive of the IHCP, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme that the 78p increase “goes nowhere near meeting the inflation”.
“This has been going on since November, we got in a position of the department saying that they feel that the costs are fully met – us saying that they’re not but the department is refusing to look at the evidence that we have and they won’t engage on it,” Shepherd said.
“We have asked the department to give us a breakdown of how they come to the methodology of how they come to the figure – we can’t get that from them.
“The independent sector just can’t continue with this, the real living wage was promised back in September – didn’t come through and we are losing staff, we can’t retain them.”
The DoH said it has “been engaging, and will continue to engage, in a range of collaborative forums with independent sector providers”.
“It would be incorrect to say that the Department is not actively engaging with homecare providers or their associated representative bodies.
“IHCP has recently asked for a substantial level of associated information and the Department is in the process of collating the response in a transparent manner,” a DoH spokesperson said.