Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for meeting us this morning and for the contributions they make on a daily basis to the members of their organisations. In regard to the comparison of home care packages with the fair deal scheme, we will face a serious problem in this country over the next 17 years as the number of people aged over 65 years increases from 500,000 to 900,000. We need to start long-term planning for this demographic change. I am not sure we are doing sufficient planning.

Mr. Timmins talked about the fair deal scheme and the 7.5%. Some 34,000 people have entered the fair deal scheme since 2009. Some 12,000 of those have died and the total refund to the fair deal scheme has been only €7.5 million in real terms, so the 5% or 7.5% will not make a huge difference in real terms. It causes anxiety with families and is an issue I come across regularly when I am acting in my legal capacity. I am not sure we are giving enough support to families in how to manage the problems they face or will face. I am not necessarily talking about financial assistance. We have tended to get the message out there that everything is State dependent. I wonder if we need to be more proactive. We have been very proactive on health issues such as smoking but we have done no education programme with the general public on how we can all make a contribution to elder care. What is the view of the witnesses, who have made very good submissions here?