The Programme for Government (2020) commits to the introduction of “a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes, which will provide equitable access to high-quality, regulated home care.” In this regard, the Department is in the process of developing a statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home-support. It is intended that the new scheme will provide equitable and transparent access to high-quality services based on a person’s assessed care needs.
As part of this work, the Department is examining the potential demand and cost of introducing such a scheme. Following this, work will be undertaken to examine the associated workforce requirements for the introduction of such a scheme and my Department will engage with other sectors as required in this regard.