Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have been working very hard on the statutory home care scheme over recent years. We lost time during Covid. I would be the first to admit that.

The Deputy is right that we need the same standards in respect of home care the length and breadth of the country. The interRAI, which is the single assessment tool, is what will provide that.

I secured funding in my very first budget to hire 128 assessors, and they are being recruited at the moment. We have four pilot sites operational. The pilot sites started early last year. We had challenges in respect of staff. I have asked that the pilot be allowed to run longer because we need to get the relevant data in respect of the four pilot schemes. They are under way in Cork, Galway, Dublin and the midlands. I look forward to receiving those data.

We want to make home care a really attractive career proposition for people who enter the home care market. The recommendations, which I will address in a moment, will help.

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