James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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345. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to extend the fair deal scheme to home care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2886/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Improving home care services so that people can continue to live with confidence, dignity and security in their own homes for as long as possible is a key commitment of the Government. However, the only statutory scheme in place at present to support older people is the Nursing Home Support Scheme. The Government intends to address this by establishing a new stand-alone statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home care services. The Department of Health is currently engaged in a detailed process to progress this.

The statutory scheme for home care will introduce clear rules in relation to the services for which individuals are eligible and in relation to how decisions are made on allocating services. It will therefore 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 in this process, the Department commissioned the Health Research Board to undertake a review of the home care systems in four other European countries. This review, which was published in April 2017, 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. I, along with Minister Daly, also launched a public consultation process in July 2017 which closed in October 2017. The purpose of this consultation was to allow all those with views on this topic to have their say, including older people themselves, their families, and healthcare workers. There was a very high response rate to the consultation process with approximately 2,600 submissions received. It is intended to publish a report of the findings of the consultation process in the coming months. Further consultation with stakeholders, including service users, will take place later this year.

The development of a new home care scheme is a complex undertaking which will involve significant legislative, operational and financial resources. A considerable amount of detailed work remains to be undertaken before final decisions are taken on the form of a home care scheme and the regulation of these services. This is necessary if reforms are to be successful, affordable and sustainable.