Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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1001. To ask the Minister for Health the reason Ireland does not have a regulatory authority overseeing homecare companies; the reason Ireland does not have a register for health care assistants; the reason the homecare companies are not regulated unlike their European counterparts; if he will ensure that these steps are taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43938/24]

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.

My Department is focused on developing the regulatory framework for providers of home support services. It aims to ensure that all service users are provided with high-quality, regulated care. The new system of regulation for home support will ensure that the public can be confident that the services provided are of a high standard and will bring Ireland in line with best international practice. This will comprise of primary legislation for the licensing of home support providers, regulations for home support which will set out the minimum requirements that a provider must meet to obtain a licence, and HIQA national standards. Work is ongoing within the Department to progress this commitment.

The Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill will regulate home support services in Ireland by establishing a licensing system for providers of home support services, under which it will be an offence to operate a service without a license. Under the legislation, HIQA’s Chief Inspector for Social Services will be the licensing authority with responsibility for monitoring and assessing compliance with regulations and HIQA national standards. The Bill will confer on HIQA, the authority to grant, amend and ultimately revoke a license if home support providers fail to meet minimum requirements. The objective of the proposed licensing system is to improve the safety and quality of home support services by ensuring that registered home support providers do not operate below the standard set by Ministerial regulations and that those regulations are applied in a consistent and systematic way. The development of a regulatory framework for providers of home support services will ensure that all service users are provided with high quality care with the same minimum standards wherever and however it is provided.

The legislation to establish a licensing framework for home support providers is at an advanced stage. In May 2024, the General Scheme was approved by Government and has been published on the Department of Health website along with the Regulatory Impact Analysis. The General Scheme includes details of the proposed structure of the regulatory framework and sets out the transitional arrangements for existing home support providers. The Joint Committee for Health has concluded its pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) of the general scheme with the final report published on the Committee’s website. The General Scheme has now been referred to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and final drafting is underway.

Draft regulations for providers of home support services set out minimum requirements which have been informed by a public consultation and stakeholder engagement. The Department of Health has been working closely with HIQA, who will act as the regulator under the proposed licensing framework, regarding the scope of regulation and the development of HIQA quality standards which will go out for public consultation in 2024.

Whether further regulation, including for example a register for health care assistants, is needed will remain under consideration. My officials are in the process of developing a framework to guide policy on the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. This framework will be informed by an evidence and risk-based approach to regulation in line with requirements set out in the EU Proportionality Test Directive, which was transposed into Irish law on 19 August 2022 (S.I. No. 413/2022). Further information on the Proportionality Test Directive can be found here: . It should be noted that there are no plans in place to progress regulation of individual professions until appropriate risk-assessment and evaluation tools are in place in compliance with best practice, international evidence, and the Proportionality Test Directive.