Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was late coming in but I too want to agree with previous speakers. My concern relates to all the Departments. The lack of housing for elderly people is a massive issue. We speak here about all the funding that is meant to be there but it is not there. The grants to local authorities include housing aid for older people and adaptation grants. Grant money is given out at the beginning of the year. Many people apply and are disappointed because they get letters back to say that there is no funding there for the grant. One has to reapply the following year. One cannot leave one's file in and have it there as a priority. One is told that there is no funding and to apply again. That is unacceptable. I know people waiting for grants who have died. It is uncalled for, there is no joined-up thinking and I am concerned about it.

The other issue is the age change from 60 to 65 without local authorities knowing. That is massive. That six-year gap is crucial for an elderly person to get work done. The maximum grant, as the witnesses know, is €30,000. Those are all means-tested. When a grant is means-tested, all the income is taken into account. Therefore, the highest grant I have seen in my years as a councillor and now a Senator would be €16,000 to €17,000. I have never seen the maximum grant given out for any housing aid for the elderly or adaptation grant. One submits a figure and a builder will come back with a quote. There were four cases in my clinic yesterday where people had got the grant. They have been given maybe €14,000 but the builder had given a quote of €22,000. They are falling between the stools because they are not able to get the work done and they are losing the grant. Nobody is helping them. There is nowhere they can go. I have put in appeals.

I have another concern. I presume there is an occupational therapist in most local authorities, as there is in my own, who works through the local authority in a private capacity. Occupational therapists do not work for the local authority but are given a grant to assess a person's situation. There are many grants which the occupational therapist has not approved and many appeals have gone back in through the doctor. There are cases where the occupational therapist has said what is recommended and I have had a man or woman come back to me. I have said it is not good enough and to go to a doctor and that the doctor needs to appeal. I feel that I am in an appeal system the whole time. A doctor can seemingly overrule an occupational therapist, and rightly so. I am not saying anything bad about the occupational therapists as I am sure they are doing their jobs. They only give a certain amount then doctors come in. I put in appeal after appeal. People may need to go back to doctors and get another assessment from them and work with the occupational therapist. The situation is unacceptable and should be examined.

Quality of life is crucial for the elderly. I know through the HSE and the councils that it is important. I believe there is a system for stove installation in some local authorities. In the past year, the biggest number of queries I have had from the elderly relate to stoves. People find them safe if they have to go out for a message or such. Even with medicals - I am going in with doctors' letters - there is no money for stoves. Can the witnesses work together and put a system together for elderly people where there is a grant scheme for stoves? I am told that it goes back to local authorities which then say there is no money there.

It is a nightmare if one is looking for windows and doors for the elderly because there is no money. People are living longer but funding is not being provided for grants. That is a major problem. I want to talk about the HSE. The HSE would originally have worked through local authorities. When one gets a grant, whether for a chair for the shower or if one has an elderly person who is looking for a walking aid or such, one has to go back to the nurse or doctor. Years ago, with local authorities, the HSE had a massive say and the local authorities, with the HSE, would say that a particular lady needed a walking aid. The other day, I was trying to get a ball for a lady for her hand as she has arthritis. I have to go back to the nurse then to the doctor. These are simple things but there does not seem to be joined-up thinking. Can the witnesses work together to produce a system, whether for a stairlift, a chair for a shower, a walking aid, a ramp or rail? The timescale is not working. If the funding is gone at the beginning of the year, and one does not get in quickly, then one is left to the following year and has to reapply. There is even a system in the HSE which is letting elderly people down. Fair play to the nurses, they are doing a great job. I am not knocking anyone here. Maybe the HSE would work more with local authorities to see what could be done.

Recently, two or three elderly people came in to buy their house. Last year, a new tenant purchase scheme was given to local authorities but an income level of 50% must be met.

I know people who have retired. They are elderly and have lived in local authority houses all their lives but they do not qualify to buy them. These people have worked all their lives and have the money but because the 50% income level is not being met, they do not qualify to buy the local authority house. I do not mean to be critical but there must be joined-up thinking so the elderly can get the chance to buy their houses. I know there was meant to be a review of the tenant purchase scheme. The couples coming to me were devastated that they could not buy the house in which they had lived all their lives. Will the witnesses do something about that?

Overall there must be a full assessment of people in three bedroom or four bedroom houses that need to downsize. I can understand this is not for everybody but the choice should be given. Recently I dealt with one or two cases of people in local authority houses that have three bedrooms and they now want properties with one or two bedrooms. They are being told there is no money to buy them a house. We have people looking to downsize but there is no programme in place. Could such a system be put in place? There is a massive issue with awareness of how people qualify for the fair deal scheme. People ring my office and I try to help but there must be a programme in place so people can be aware of what they need to do to qualify for the fair deal scheme. This also applies to families seeking respite, as there is no respite. People are ringing hospitals and trying to get respite or cataracts removed. Ultimately, elderly people are being forgotten in certain areas. Respite is one area where people must wait for months. I have contacted the Health Service Executive and hospitals and people are in queues because there are no beds. This must be addressed.

Elderly people might have to wait for up to two and a half years for a cataract operation or even a hospital appointment. In my area of Carlow and Kilkenny, people have been waiting for over a year just for an appointment. These are not all elderly people but some of them are. We need to prioritise the elderly and get the HSE, local authorities and the Department together to form a system where everybody can work together. I am not being negative but I am dealing with these areas.

I know everybody is doing their best. Will different programmes be put in place for the rebuilding of houses for elderly people or the system for grant applications? Will there be a revision to the process of working through the HSE, the nurses and doctors in different areas when people need to access services? The staff are being put to the pin of their collar but there is not enough time for them. All of us are here today and it is important that everybody works together so there can be delivery. I know from dealing with the different Departments that everybody is doing their best. Funding is a massive issue and unless it is put in the right areas, the whole system will fall. There must be accountability, as I have said that it is a major issue too. We need to look at accountability in different areas.