Mr. Eamon Timmins:

I support Deputy Ó Caoláin. The respite-care grant has had a huge impact on family carers, who are the forgotten heroes in Irish society.

In response to an earlier comment from Senator Colm Burke, the national positive-aging strategy deals with how the State is preparing for an aging population. In April, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, published a national positive-aging strategy. It does not have an implementation plan yet, but we were told it would come within six months. That six-month period expired yesterday. We need to see the State start to implement a national positive-aging strategy and start to plan for an aging population. We cannot continue to put our head in the sand; the issue will not go away.