Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-20
============================================================

Kieran O'Donnell (FG), Limerick City

I thank Deputy Rice for tabling this amendment. Section 69B(2) sets out the circumstances where a homecare support provider can seek an exemption to the requirement to register under the Bill. This ensures there is suitable clarity and transparency about when a person will be exempt from the requirement to register. Section 69B(2)(a) provides that where a person provides a homecare support service to fewer than four people, that person will be exempt from the requirement to register. This exclusion was carefully considered as part of the original general scheme to ensure the regulatory burden placed on providers was proportionate to the size of the service being provided. These small services are typically single operators working on a one-to-one basis with service users. These operators can be considered especially valuable in rural areas. This exemption also seeks to exempt PA services where a service user directly employs a personal assistant. These arrangements allow service users to direct the way in which their services are provided, which upholds the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
International comparisons were also looked at when drafting the exemptions. Wales includes a similar exemption in its version of homecare, which is called domiciliary support services. When I visited Wales, and particularly Cardiff, on St. Patrick's Day, I met the Welsh minister responsible and her officials to discuss this aspect. The Welsh scheme exempts providers who provide support to four or fewer people at any time. The Bill exempts providers who provide support to fewer than four people, which is three or fewer. Northern Ireland, Scotland and England all exempt services where the care and support is provided by a single individual. Based on this proportionality, I cannot accept the amendment.
I know the intent behind it. The legislation will be reviewed two years after it fully comes into operation and we will look at it. However, it was carefully thought about and we looked at international comparisons and at making it proportionate. I am not accepting the amendment, but I note its intent.

---

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/dail/2026-05-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-20