James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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678. To ask the Minister for Health the progress that has been made to ensure that the home care package is underpinned by statute; the consultation he has had in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35035/17]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to promoting care in the community for older people so that they can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible. In this regard, the Department of Health is currently engaged in a detailed process to develop plans for a new statutory scheme and system of regulation for home care services.

The statutory scheme for home care will introduce clear rules in relation to what services individuals are eligible for and how decisions are made on allocating services. For that reason, developing a new statutory scheme will be an important step in ensuring that the system operates in a consistent and fair manner for all those who need home care services. It will also help to improve access to the home care services that people need, in an affordable and sustainable way. The system of regulation for home care will help to ensure that the public can be confident that the services provided are of a high standard.

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 the public consultation on home care services which I, along with Minister Harris, launched on 6 July. 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. It will also allow us to find out what people think about current home care services as well as the public’s views on what the future scheme should look like. The consultation paper is available online at /and I encourage all those with an interest in home care services to make a submission to the consultation.

A report of the findings of this consultation process will be published and the findings will be used by the Department in the development of the new home care scheme.