Mr. Pat Healy:

The quality assurance piece is important from an audit perspective. It needs to be external to the direct provision of the people running the service. There should be regulation in due course.

A really significant aspect for the committee is that when the Department completes its consultations, the development of the legislation and regulation in this sector and the establishment of a scheme will be very significant undertakings. Part of what we are trying to emphasise is that we will have to maintain the flexibility of the system in this one, as well as developing a statutory scheme. If it is to be made statutory and if regulation is to be implemented, the flexibility of the home care service is significant. I agree with what Mr. Murphy and other colleagues said. We are all agreed that it will be a cornerstone of the continuum of care. It is going to be really important and it is very timely. We support the work of the Department in developing this but it will require a lot of close attention to get it right.