Ms Fiona Larthwell:

If it is a HSE-funded or a HSE service there will be a complaints mechanism. However, there is no independent complaints process at the moment and that is one of the reasons we see regulation as being so important. When we discussed the new regulations with HIQA it commented on the fact that when home support gets a lot coverage on the news, it is approached by people with concerns and it has to say to them that it has no role here and cannot do anything for them. We want to avoid that. It is really important people feel they have somewhere to go when they have concerns.

In terms of specific concerns raised with the Department, they are more about provision. It is more about the number of hours and the accessibility of hours. We do not tend to get a lot of submissions about quality of care issues but they are out there. People are uniquely vulnerable when they are at home. It is potentially just them and another person. We have heard about cases of financial abuse and there is always a possibility of things such as physical abuse. They are the sort of things we do not want to think about but they can happen and it is really important we have regulations in place.

As the provision is expanding so much nationally people are more and more at risk because there is more provision happening. Even by the law of averages things will go wrong more often. That is the basis for this legislation.