Care commission and home care legislation
Deputy Bruton asked when the commission on older people will start and when home care legislation will come before the House. The Minister of State said funding was secured, the commission would be established in January, and statutory home care legislation was the next step.
The Oireachtas had an opportunity to hear from family carers this morning. While they welcome innovations coming from the Government, such as the carer's pension, they have identified a number of gaps, including in the statutory home care proposal and support for assisted living wraparound services. When will the commission for older people get under way? Can we expect that the home carer legislation will come before the House during this Dáil session?
Comment on this
Very important issues were raised by Family Carers Ireland. I will answer both the Deputy's questions. In budget 2024, €1.4 million was secured for the commission on care. We are just working through the final details now, but it will be set up in January next year. There will be three different modules. The first module will be six months, there will be a second module of six months, and then a 12-month module. A huge amount of work will be done on the commission on care for older people.
The next piece of the jigsaw in respect of statutory home care is the legislative piece. It is currently under priority drafting and will move to the next phase. I hope to introduce that early next year.