Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak to the motion and commend Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell and her colleagues for bringing it before the House.

End-of-life care is important not only for the person who is about to go to his or her eternal reward but also to his or her extended family. My family and I have experienced death under differing circumstances. My father died suddenly one morning at the age of 55 years; my mother died from cancer a number of years ago; my father-in-law took his own life at the age of 55 years and my husband's nephew took his own life last summer, at the age of 17 years. I think I know what it is like to experience death under a range of circumstances. Speaking from this experience, I am familiar with the work done by palliative care nurses, or daffodil nurses as we also call them. The care, affection and medical assistance they gave to my family member was second to none. The counselling, consoling and help they offered to us in coming to terms with the impending death of our loved were far and above what was expected of them and, I believe, beyond the call of duty. The care provided by the palliative care team at Kerry General Hospital was also outstanding. The unit is absolutely amazing. We are lucky to have such a facility and every county should have similar teams. As the saying goes, they are “bad to want, but good to have” when needed. Kerry General Hospital is in the process of providing palliative care beds for patients who need in-care treatment.

Other speakers have discussed the medical and clinical aspects of end-of-life care, but I want to change course somewhat because bereavement goes far beyond the death of a person. While I appreciate that a number of organisations such as Console offer one-to-one counselling to the bereaved, the fact is that when people are bereaved, they are in distress because of the loss of their loved ones. There is a huge void in their lives and often they do not know where to turn. It is imperative at this time that they get the help that they need. From my work with bereaved people, I recognise how lost and unsure they can be about what they need to do and how they can claim their entitlements. For example, not many people know that they are now required to register a death. Whereas hospitals or doctors formerly registered deaths, the onus is now on the family concerned. As people often do not realise that when they register the death, they must show photographic proof of identity, they can be required to make a return visit. They may also be unaware of the fact that a specific death certificate for social welfare purposes only costs €1, as opposed to the €20 which they end up paying because they did not know about it. Many people, particularly men, are not aware of their entitlement to survivor's pension. They may believe they cannot claim both allowances because they have private pension provision. People who do not qualify for the State pension because they worked in the public sector may not realise they can receive a widow's or widower's pension. I have also encountered a number of bereaved young parents who did not know about the widowed parent's grant or that a funeral grant was payable if the death was the result of an accident at work. These are all important issues of which a bereaved person needs to be aware. A simple way of making sure people are aware of their entitlements is to distribute booklets through undertakers that outline in clear detail what needs to be done. These booklets could then be supplied to bereaved families.

The legal aspects of bereavement can also cause confusion and distress. The absence of a will can complicate the disposal of capital and property because two thirds of the legacy will go to the spouse, while the remaining one third is divided equally among the children. It can be very expensive to resolve this complication.

Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell's motion does not make an unreasonable demand. It reflects what every organisation stated to the Joint Committee on Health and Children. I am delighted, therefore, that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, agreed to withdraw the counter motion which would have been impossible for me and my Labour Party colleagues to support. I commend Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell and her colleagues for the motion which I am delighted to support.