Mr. Liam O'Sullivan:

In Ireland we have an interesting relationship with taxation. There is often a discussion on wanting Scandinavian-type services but there is not always the wider societal sense that this takes a level of taxation. One of the risks if people do have to pay for part of the care, and I do not have strong evidence for this, may be self-neglect. People may decide they will not pay for it so they will not get it and it may lead to unintended consequences. We must balance to what extent the State makes a decision on this.

There are various models throughout Europe and Mr. Dunne alluded to the insurance model, which probably would be preferable. There is a percentage of direct payment with the rest coming later. It will require cross-party political leadership to state this will cost us collectively but it will be worth it because we want high quality care, to value family carers and, increasingly, paid care workers because this is the type of society in which we want to live.