This report was finalised by the working group at the end of 2005 and submitted to Government in January 2006. While the report’s proposals were not formally endorsed by Government, its analysis and recommendations have informed subsequent decisions, including the Fair Deal policy on Long-Term Nursing Home Care.

The principles underpinning the report formed the basis for discussions about long term care with the Social Partners prior to the new national programme negotiations leading to a clear vision articulated in Towards 2016 on a number of priority actions to support older people to participate in society in a full and meaningful way.

It is important to note that the report was prepared on the basis of the best information available to the working group at the time. In some instances the data used was tentative in nature and in many cases has been superseded by better or more up-to-date data. This should be borne in mind when reading the report.