Ms Gráinne Loughran:

In addition, on home support, going back to 1968, the interdepartmental report on the care of the aged recommended placing home care on a statutory footing. That highlights the challenges but also should cause us to reflect on why it has taken so long and why we have gone through successive Departments and Governments, yet we are still not at the point at which we said we wanted to get to in 1968. That should be reflected on. The broad range of requirements and policy needs for older people often get left aside. Many of us do not think about what we will want for ourselves as we get older and what we want for the population as we all get older is put on the long finger. That is on a personal basis for many but also on a national basis and it is something that needs to be addressed.