Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister.

Let me refer to question No. 27 on aftercare and individuals who have lost their medical cards. The reply stated it is not necessary to have a medical card to avail of services in most areas. I assure the Minister that I have come across a number of cases in which it was essential to have a medical card to avail of a service.

The Minister spoke about community nursing homes. It is very important to be able to continue to provide community nursing home services. I have encountered two cases of people in their 80s who have lost their medical cards and who have genuinely sick partners. One individual was charged €50 for a nurse to come to his home to dress his arm because he had fallen. After contacting the primary care health centre and speaking to the doctor there, circumstances were reversed. The nurse attended a few times and helped to bring the man’s health back to an appropriate standard.

I am very concerned about home help services and the effort to keep people at home. The Minister did not mention this because it is not in the question. In my area, where people are given half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening, the service is not adequate. I refer to where somebody has to be got out of bed and helped to make a bit of breakfast, and attended to in the evening also for half an hour. I am very concerned because many service providers are now telling me they are just not able to manage anymore consequent to people being given just half an hour. An individual might be entitled to an hour, but this would mean half an hour in the morning and half an hour at night. I do not know what can be done about it but I hope the Minister can consider it again. The more we can keep people in their homes, the more they can be with their neighbours and family. I hope that, through community nursing homes, we might be able to enjoy the added bonus of keeping people at home.

I ask the Minister to reconsider favourably the cases of people whose medical cards have been removed because they were somewhat over the threshold but who might be elderly or have a very sick partner at home.