Dr. Jean Long:

We hand-picked, independent of the Department, the four countries we reviewed because they were very experienced in home care and it is obviously better to learn from people with experience. While Ireland is lagging behind other countries, given our younger population, the need has not arisen as early as it arose in the other countries studied. Once we realise the need, it is important not to jump in with a solution that is not based on learning elsewhere. The main reason for the evidence review is to ascertain what others have done, what has been their experience and what they have learned along the way. That is what the evidence review will give the Department.

From our review and reading, as Mr. Deegan also indicated, we found that many of the practices used in the four countries we studied are similar to the practices used here on an administrative basis. While this is obviously not sufficient - regulation would be better - it is not the case that nothing is happening in the system.