Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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742. To ask the Minister for Health the progress to date on the establishment of a commission for care as promised in the Programme for Government, which will examine care and supports for older people; the timeline for its introduction; the number and grade of civil servants working full-time on this policy commitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4731/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to supporting healthy and positive ageing as well as to ensuring that older persons can continue to live independently in their homes and communities for as long as possible. 

Acknowledging the disproportionately negative impact of the pandemic on older persons, the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future (2020) commits to the establishment of a commission on care that will ‘assess how we care for older people and examine alternatives to meet the diverse needs of our older citizens’, learning the lessons from COVID 19.

In 2022 preliminary desk research was undertaken within the Department of Health in preparation for the establishment of the commission on care. In 2023 the scoping and planning for the commission on care (inclusive of timelines) will be further advanced as a priority. The team of civil servants that will lead the commission on care is currently being formed.