Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Maybe Mr. Cody might be, but that is the reality. Let us not ignore the fact. We have 720,000 people over 65 years of age. By 2030, there will be 1 million.

There will be a significant increase, therefore, in the demand for home care. With regard to the meat industry, we allowed people to come in from abroad. If an employer wants to bring someone in from abroad to work, it must guarantee that the person will be paid more than €30,000 per annum. The meat industry has been allowed to bring people earning less than €30,000 per annum. If a family brings in someone from abroad to live permanently with its elderly relative and is paying that person a salary, it cannot bring that person in unless it pays him or her €30,000 per annum or more. Revenue will not take accommodation and food being provided to the person providing care into account. Revenue makes no allowance for that. If someone has free accommodation for 12 months, has probably earned €80 to €100 per week and has had all of his or her meals provided, that is not taken into account in coming to the figure of €30,000. Would Revenue consider reviewing that issue because we will not be able to deal with this problem over the next six to seven years unless there are major changes? Israel allows people to come in for a maximum of five years. I ask that Revenue gives serious consideration to this type of scheme, in other words, allowing for accommodation to be taken into account in arriving at the figure of €30,000.