Ms Gráinne Loughran:

In addition, regarding the fair deal-style funding that has been referenced at various points, a funding mechanism for home support has not been decided on. It is currently funded through general taxation and, as many of us will be aware, the fair deal process is complex. It is bureaucratic. We anticipate a process of that nature would likely dissuade people from going that route and instead potentially looking for support from that unregulated care sector. The ESRI report that looked into the various funding models that could be considered for home support found that once the value of somebody's home was take into consideration almost every outcome was regressive. It would increase poverty among older people and there were a range of other issues. The ESRI report did not go into that particular option in detail but those were the findings.

People use home support for significant periods. They might start on a lower level of support and increase it over a period of months or years, or they might not increase it. Home support is not the same as nursing home support and the funding model has to consider the expansive nature of home support and people's experiences of it. As Mr. Moynihan stated, it has to work from the older person out to be effective.