Statutory home care scheme is two years away

It will be another two years before a new Fair Deal-type scheme for people in their own homes is up and running, it has emerged.

The minister of state with responsibility for older people, Jim Daly, defended the timescale yesterday, saying he wanted to develop a statutory home care scheme from scratch.

“The current system isn’t fit for purpose as far as I am concerned. It certainly won’t be fit for purpose into the future and people will not be satisfied with the existing arrangement,” he said.