Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-23 ============================================================ Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel The Bill is coming through, and that will take 12 months. We are going to then have a transitional period about which the Minister of State spoke eloquently at committee. He was pressed on that point by various members. He said that the reality is that there will be a transitional period. There will be phasing as new people come in. There are other sideshows going on to address the shortage of carers and all of that. There is a three-year timeframe. I heard what the Minister of State said. I am conscious that the Order of Business has given the approval to complete this business here today. That is out of my hands and out of the Minister of State's hands. It is not of my making or his. The options are clearly simple. We either do not accept the Minister of State's position and call a vote, and have everyone race up the stairs for the same usual exercise that has gone on for many years, or we clasp two hands in good faith and try to do something. I am opting for the latter option. I am happy to work with the Minister of State, as I am sure are the other Members of this House. We could tighten the timeframes, but that is a matter to do with Whips and how the Government organises its parliamentary business, and I respect that. It is important that we keep focused on these matters. Clearly, the Oireachtas committee can revisit the issue at some other stage. I thank the Minister of State for his engagement. I also thank the Seanad for the opportunity to raise these issues. This is a public forum and a very important place. We are on a pathway. It is important that we have this debate. I am not going to press the amendment on the basis that the Minister of State has given a commitment to the effect that he is working on the issue. I will leave him with one request. Please keep the focus on the home care packages. Over 5,000 people in this country are waiting. They want to live in their homes by choice. They want to be empowered and supported at a vulnerable stage in their lives. They may be younger people with a disability or special need. They may be vulnerable parents, worn out and exhausted trying to care for their loved ones. It is a very distressing situation. No family is untouched by some experience of this matter. I thank the Minister of State for his engagement. I thank his officials and staff for their engagement. I hope that we can keep it on the radar and retain focus, and that we can work collaboratively to advance some of the key issues that I have sought to advance here today. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:05+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-23