3151. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Health for an update on the proposed statutory home care scheme; if consideration is being given to developing a scheme similar to the nursing home support scheme (fair deal) to support people to receive care in their own homes; the timeline for its introduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60048/26]

The 2025 Programme for Government commits to "Design a Statutory Homecare Scheme to allow people to stay in their own home for as long as possible." Enabling older people with care needs to continue to live independently at home for as long as possible, is a priority for the Government and as such it has committed to establishing a new Statutory Scheme for regulation of home support services, which the Department of Health is currently developing.

A critical first step has been ensuring that the home support providers are regulated. An important development in the home care sector has been the introduction of the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Act 2026 which introduces for the first time, the registration and regulation by HIQA and the Chief Inspector of Social Services of all of public, private and voluntary home support providers in Ireland. The Bill has been approved by Cabinet and was published on 22nd December 2025. It was signed into law by the President on 1st July 2026.

The secondary legislation is at an advanced stage and both regulations and quality standards (developed by HIQA) have been informed by public consultation and stakeholder engagement. The Department will continue to work with HIQA and in consultation with the sector, on the legal drafting of the secondary legislation (the regulations).

The objective of the registration system is to improve the safety and quality of home support services. It will ensure that registered home support providers do not operate below the standard set by Ministerial regulations. The new system of regulation for home support providers 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 Act will provide for the regulation of the sector by HIQA. Final amendments have been made to draft regulations for home support providers following public consultation and engagements with stakeholder groups.

Alongside this legislation, the Department is working to address the future financing of homecare, the reform of the model of service delivery and the breadth of issues relating to recruitment and retention in this sector; all in the context of a substantial expansion of the State-funded home support service.

How home support will be funded in the future will be an essential factor of the new Statutory Scheme. Currently, home support services are fully exchequer funded for those who have been assessed by the HSE as requiring the service. The Department is researching different funding models which will form an important part of the evidence base for the development of a sustainable funding model for home care services and has commissioned several reports from the ESRI and the European Observatory on Health Systems.

This research is being examined, as it forms an important part of the evidence base for the development of a sustainable funding model for home support services in the context of our ageing population. The Capacity Review was undertaken by the ESRI and published in June 2025. Regional projections were published in November 2025. This will help to inform the levels of service provision required into the future (out to 2040) and will be a key piece of research for this workstream.

It is important to note that no decision on future funding options has been made, and further research is underway.