David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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284. To ask the Minister for Health the current position regarding the development of National Standards for Home Support Services; the expected timeframe of the public consultation on these standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37167/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Ensuring that all home support users are provided with high quality care is a priority for my Department and the Government as a whole. As such, considerable work has gone into developing a regulatory framework for home support providers. This work comprises of primary legislation for the licensing of home support providers, regulations for home support services which will set out the minimum requirements that a provider must meet to obtain a licence, and HIQA national standards.

Under the Health Act of 2007, HIQA has a remit to set standards for Ireland’s health and social care services, and to monitor services against these standards. Amendments included in the [Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill General Scheme will amend the Health Act of 2007 requiring HIQA to set standards on safety and quality for home support services and monitor compliance with these standards.

In preparation for this change, HIQA have been developing draft National Standards for Home Support Services in line with their standards development process. The draft standards have been informed by an evidence review, and a public scoping consultation, both of which have been published at . HIQA has advised the Department that it plans to commence a public consultation on the draft standards in Q4 2024. Following this, standards will be finalised and approved by the HIQA Board before being submitted for Ministerial approval.