Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have no doubt we could do that. In advance of the introduction of the fair deal scheme, the question of significant delays in accessing nursing home care was a very persistent one in this House, probably tabled by Deputy Durkan, who is known for his parliamentary questions, and by many other Deputies. The fair deal scheme, which was landmark legislation, brought through by the former Minister, Mary Harney, put in place for the first time a statutorily based scheme, a legal entitlement, guidelines, rules and the like. We do not have that for home care. We have an ad hocsystem that works well in some parts of the country and not so well in others. Providing more certainty about how something works will help to attract more people to work within that sector too. I am confident that increased investment coupled, crucially, with reform and the introduction of a statutory home care scheme, we can significantly reduce waiting lists for home care and provide people with certainty about the supports they receive.

See this speech in context