Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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200. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the proposed regulation of home care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22270/17]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Government recognises the need for effective regulation of home care services. For that reason, the Department of Health is currently engaged in a detailed process to design a new system of regulation for these important services. This process will also determine the new standalone funding scheme that will apply to home care.

As an initial step, the Department commissioned the Health Research Board to undertake an evidence review of the home care systems that are in place in four other European countries. This review was published on 11 April. The Review will help us to learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions and will inform the debate and future consideration of approaches to formal home care financing and regulation here in Ireland.

Another important step in this process is a public consultation process which I will be launching at the end of May. The purpose of this consultation is to allow all those who have views on this topic to have their say, including older people themselves, their families, and healthcare workers.