John Curran
Question:1886. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Health the progress made to date regarding the development of a new statutory homecare scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34227/19]
View answerTuesday, 23 July 2019
Questions (1886)
Written answers
The Department of Health is currently engaged in the development of a new statutory scheme and system of regulation for home-support services. In preparation for the development of the statutory scheme, the Department commissioned the Health Research Board to carry out a review of the home-care systems in four European countries. In addition, the Department conducted a public consultation on home-care services, on which a report was published in 2018. These reports are available on the Department’s website and will help to ensure that the new scheme is informed both by international experience and by the views of stakeholders, including service-users.
The Sláintecare Implementation Strategy commits to the introduction of the statutory scheme in 2021. As part of this, work is on-going to determine the optimal approach to the development of the statutory scheme within the broader context of the Sláintecare reforms and in 2019 work is focusing on the design of the scheme, the options for regulation, and a review of existing services. Stakeholder consultation will continue throughout the process of developing the new scheme.