Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I regret that the Tánaiste is not present in the Chamber and that no member of her parliamentary party has chosen to listen to the debate. I hope they take the opportunity to properly respond. The Tánaiste's recent statement moved the Independent Members of the Technical Group to table this motion. Her explanations to date on the context of her statements are far short of what is required. The House requires a better explanation as to how she sees the role of the State in the care of the elderly.

In practice and philosophy, the Tánaiste's party in Government has been pernicious in the area of social policy. The term "social policy" is treated with disdain by the Progressive Democrats, a party that believes social policy to be an oxymoron. The pernicious and odious manner in which social policy has been implemented in the lifetime of this and the previous Government has resulted in reduced levels of equality and care and more greed.

Given that so many elderly people live alone and are in need of care services, and that the role of the State in providing those services is minuscule, the context in which the Tánaiste could have made this statement is so far from belief as to be utterly unacceptable. I look forward to whatever explanation she gives to the House on why she even made such a statement. We are well beyond excusing Fianna Fáil for this. It has got to the stage where the Progressive Democrats is not the tail that wags the dog; it is the personality implant within the dog that forces the dog to bite on cue. The Progressive Democrats is the dog's means of transmitting rabies.

With the viciousness that now characterises social policy, we must propose a different view. The State plays an unacceptably small role in the care of our elderly. We must provide additional resources and take different approaches to make sure these needs are properly met. In the West Gate centre in Ballincollig there is a co-ordinated, cohesive and holistic approach between departments. There is a community element in how services are provided, not only to meet long-term residential needs, but also day care and additional services in the areas of nutrition, exercise and meeting the social needs of the elderly. This is a template for services that should exist across the State.

I accept there is an argument to be made about how the State is spending money on private nursing homes and how this does not represent the best use of taxpayers' money and does not meet the care needs of the 15,000 people in such homes. As she has previously done on other issues, such as single mothers, the Tánaiste has chosen to initiate the debate from the perspective that the State is doing too much. We say the State is doing too little.

The Green Party fully supports this motion. We are confident that other Opposition Members will similarly endorse it. I hope the Minister of State, free from his busy activities under the EU Presidency, might relate this to the Government, particularly his coalition partners. The message coming from the Government benches is unacceptable for the type of society many of us want to see.

See this speech in context