What you need to know
- New regulatory framework established: The Act amends the Health Act 2007 to assign HIQA and the Chief Inspector of Social Services certain roles similar to those established under the nursing home sector model. These include setting standards, registering providers, inspecting services, and investigating compliance issues, similar to the nursing home sector model.
- Scope of regulation: The Act applies to all providers - public, private, and voluntary - offering personal care or practical assistance to older people, individuals with disabilities, or other vulnerable persons in their homes.
- Key operational requirements: Providers must register with the Chief Inspector before operating, with a two-year transitional period for existing providers. Ownership changes require fresh registration applications. Renewal applications will be assessed based on past compliance and performance with a view to incentivising adherence to standards.
- Preparation and impact: Providers are advised to proactively review governance, documentation and staff qualifications against the draft 2024 National Standards for Home Support Services to ensure smooth registration. The Act is expected to drive significant improvements in home support quality and governance, mirroring nursing home sector reforms.
Introduction
For as long as home support services have existed in Ireland, they have sat outside any dedicated statutory regulatory regime. Nursing homes, by contrast, have been subject to Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) oversight for close to two decades. That gap has now closed. That gap has now closed. The Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025, described as a landmark reform, has now passed both Houses of the Oireachtas and was formally enacted on 1 July 2026, though it is not yet in force. The new Act, once commenced, will bring home support providers within HIQA’s regulatory remit for the first time.
What the Act does
The Act amends the Health Act 2007 to give HIQA and the Chief Inspector of Social Services at HIQA a new set of functions specific to home support. HIQA will be responsible for setting standards on the safety and quality of home support services. The Chief Inspector’s role is expanded to include establishing and maintaining a register of providers, and registering and inspecting providers against both Ministerial regulations and HIQA’s standards. HIQA will also carry out investigations of registered providers where compliance concerns arise.
In practice, this mirrors the model already familiar from the nursing home sector: a licensing gateway administered by the Chief Inspector, underpinned by published standards, and backed by an inspection and enforcement function.
Who are "Home Support Providers"?
The regulations are aimed at anyone providing personal care or practical assistance to older people, people with disabilities, or other vulnerable individuals in their own homes. This is deliberately broad and is intended to capture public, private and voluntary sector providers alike - not just the private home care companies that have expanded rapidly in recent years. It is important to note that Section 69B(2), inserted into the Health Act 2007 by Section 9 of the 2026 Act, exempts certain individuals from being categorised as “Home Support Provider” for the purposes of the 2026 Act. This includes, but is not limited to:
- A person who provides home support services to fewer than four persons
- Individuals who provide home support services without commercial gain, and
- A person providing a home support service in that person’s capacity as a member of a relevant profession under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005.
The mechanics that matter for providers
A few practical points stand out for anyone operating, or advising, in this space:
- Mandatory registration: Providers must register with the Chief Inspector before they can lawfully operate. Operating without registration will be a criminal offence.
- A two-year transitional window: Section 69ZD confirms that existing home support providers will have two years from the date on which the relevant sections of the Act come into operation to apply for initial registration. This is a time period that will pass quickly given the governance and documentation work involved. It is also important to note that section 69ZD(2) places a specific obligation on existing home support providers. They must notify the Chief Inspector that they currently provide home support and intend to apply for registration within three months of section 69C coming into operation.
- Ownership changes trigger a fresh application: Where a home support provider changes hands, the new owner must apply to register before being appointed. This will have implications for due diligence on any acquisition or restructuring in the sector.
Renewals are not a formality: Renewal applications will be assessed not just against the standard registration criteria, but against the provider’s compliance and performance record under its previous registration. It is anticipated that this mechanism will create a real incentive to maintain a clean inspection history from day one.
The groundwork is already laid
This regulatory framework has been signposted for some time. HIQA published draft National Standards for Home Support Services in 2024, explicitly in preparation for this legislation. Providers who have already engaged with those standards will have a head start.
What providers should be doing now
Providers would be well advised to review their governance structures, care documentation, staff training and qualification records now, against the 2024 standards and the new Act, so that the registration application is a formality rather than a scramble. Anyone contemplating a sale, acquisition or corporate restructuring involving a home support provider should also factor the new registration step into transaction timelines and conditions.
A wider shift
HIQA’s assumption of nursing home regulation in 2009 transformed that sector over the subsequent decade, driving significant improvements in governance and standards of care. There is every reason to expect the same trajectory for home support providers. For providers, their insurers, investors and their advisers, this Act is the commencement of that process; the emphasis for all stakeholders should shift to early preparation now.
For more information and expert advice, contact a member of our Health & Prosecutions or Public Regulatory and Investigations teams.
The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.
