Defining home care is an essential first step on the path to a statutory right

Defining what home care is

Minister of State for Older Persons, Kieran O’Donnell TD, opened the International Engaging Dementia Conference 2025 by committing to prioritising the introduction of a statutory home care scheme, which would give citizens the right to home care. To do this, the Minister said that Government would need to define what home care is. At Dovida, we believe we have a good understanding of home care. However, establishing a statutory right necessitates a legal definition that could withstand court challenges. 

Government Considerations

I had the opportunity to respond to the challenge of defining home care during the conference’s ‘Panel on Caring’. Government must consider whether home care is a health intervention, a social support, a disability right, or a blend of all three. A health intervention is something prescribed by a nurse and could include assistance with transfers, continence care, or medication administration. A social support assists people to participate in their communities and includes meeting neighbours, shopping, or attending college or university. A disability right allows the person with the home support service to decide their service’s goals for themselves and plan out how and when the service will be delivered. 

Dovida’s Current Offering

At Dovida, we currently offer all three approaches. Our brand promise, ‘Your Life, Your Way’ is grounded in disability advocacy. Our private pay clients have more freedom to choose the type of service they want. For HSE-funded clients, balancing the prioritising of tasks set by the public health nurse and the goals of the individual receiving the service within the allocated budget remains a challenge. This is the challenge Government must grapple with in order to define what home care is and grant people the statutory right they deserve.