Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will make a suggestion. It seems that there is consensus in the committee to support the recommendations the Ombudsman is making on the contract of care and strengthening the rights of people, particularly when it comes to security of tenure but also in enumerating what the contract should cover and having adequate funding to cover them. It might be possible for the committee to write to that effect in support of the Ombudsman's findings. We probably have not had a lot of time to consider it and may not have time to consider alternative models of care. The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has work in progress on the issue of home care. I will make two suggestions. The first is that the committee write indicating its support for the Ombudsman's position. Second, given there has been an interregnum since the Ombudsman's representations to the Department of Health, we could ask the Minister to come back to update us on what is happening. We endorse the Ombudsman's analysis of the contract, the issues related to security of tenure, particularly the additional charges, how they are provided for and their impact on people's disposable income and their ability to live a life with some volition. The Minister of State might be able to talk to us about the alternative care models because that is the subject of the work under way. Is there anything else anybody could suggest? Writing as a committee and inviting the Minister are the two things we could do.