The Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 receives Government Approval

On 09 December 2025, the Cabinet approved publication of the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 (“the Bill”).

The Bill was before Dáil Éireann, Second Stage yesterday, 20 January 2026.

The Bill will amend the Health Act 2007, which established the Health Information and Quality Authority (“HIQA”) and will introduce a mandatory registration and quality standards for home support services in Ireland. The Bill will include a scheme of registration and inspection of persons who provide certain support services to older persons and persons with disabilities in their private dwellings.

Home support providers will be required to adhere to a registration framework supported by national quality standards developed by HIQA and meet minimum requirements set out under Ministerial regulations. The Chief Inspector of Social Services in HIQA will be the regulatory authority and will be responsible for monitoring and assessing compliance.

Amongst a range of measures, is the following:

• The Bill will ensure that it will be an offence to provide a home support service without being registered.
• The Bill will ensure that registered home support providers will not be permitted to operate below the standard set by Ministerial regulations.
• The Bill will enable HIQA to monitor and assess compliance with regulations and HIQA national standards.
• The Bill will improve the safety and quality of Home Support services.

In relation to enforcement, in the event that a registered home support provider is not meeting registration requirements, the ultimate sanction available, is the revocation of the registration.

The aim of this new legislation is to set a higher bar for the quality, safety, and consistency of care delivered to individuals in their homes.

The Bill will become an Act once it has been passed by the Dáil and Seanad and signed into law by the President.

A commencement date for all or part of the Act will then be set by Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

For more information, please contact Sinéad Keavey, Danielle Sumner, or another member of the Healthcare team.

*This information is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute, nor should be regarded as, a substitute for taking legal advice that is tailored to your circumstances.