Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have the opportunity to second this ambitious Bill. For too long there has been an absence of regulations for professional home care. That cannot continue. Great trust is placed on home care workers. They have access to older people's homes and spend large amounts of time unsupervised with them. It is a credit to the professionalism of the home care industry that breeches of trust is not an issue in the sector, but that cannot be left to good fortune. There must be a level of oversight so that people continue to feel safe and be safe in their homes.

Deputy Colm Burke has put great effort into ensuring that this issue gets the attention it deserves. The Minister of State is also working on plans in the area and I am certain she will welcome such a well drafted Bill to complement all the work her Department has been doing over so many years. It is a credit to Deputy Colm Burke that he has put a Bill before the House in the first few months of this Dáil while the Department has worked on this issue for years and still has not published legislation. I am sure there are many complex legal issues to justify such a delay but it is their job to overcome these delays not cling to them as excuses for delaying regulations on such an important area. I hope we do not have to wait for a rogue operator in the industry to take advantage of vulnerable people to spur the Department into action, otherwise we will have failed. I look forward to the Minister of State bringing forward proposals in the next 12 months that largely reflect the good work done by Deputy Colm Burke. I know he will not allow them to kick this important issue to touch, and I will support him in this.

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