Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)

I want to see if "Inchydoney Man", that almost mythical, caring Fianna Fáil individual invented by the party's spin doctors, has any basis in reality or if he or she has melted away like the proverbial snow off the ditch. Deputy McCreevy is gone to pastures new. I knew him well. He was also shafted by the Taoiseach and the Government spin doctors persuaded him that he was being promoted. I also want to see if McCreevyism is dead or if it still resides in Tullamore. Most of all, however, I want to see the full-time carers who made strenuous and very moving submissions to the joint committee getting fair treatment. I promised them that and I like to honour a promise. No more will these people's needs be put on the back burner. As far as I and my Labour Party colleagues are concerned, they will now be to the fore.

The joint committee, in addition to making a recommendation on the abolition of means testing, also recommended that caring resources should be shifted towards home care and a home based subvention system should be established; that a consistent and comprehensive system of needs assessment be established — I will provide the Minister with a copy of the Bill my party has drafted to ensure that this happens; and that the one size fits all inflexible approach to disability support, about which Deputy Finian McGrath has often spoken, be abandoned and a flexible approach to administration of the regulations be adopted.

I would have far preferred to be addressing the needs of carers tonight by way of a Private Members' Bill, rather than simply a Private Members' motion. However, under Standing Orders, an Opposition Deputy is prohibited from tabling a Bill that would involve a charge on the Exchequer. It is impossible to address the needs of carers without spending additional money. However, the Labour Party has done its work and has produced a draft carers Bill 2004, which I will forward to the Minister. I would also be glad to make it available to any Member of the House.

I will briefly outline the contents of the draft Bill. Section 1 provides for a right of carers to an assessment of needs. It states that a health board shall carry out such an assessment at the request of a carer providing care for a person to whom the board may provide health or personal social services. The assessment will relate to the carer's ability to provide and to continue to provide care for the person cared for. In addition, a board will be obliged to carry out such an assessment, if so requested, in conjunction with an assessment carried out under any other enactment, such as the Disability Bill when enacted, of the needs of a person for health board services. The Bill obviously will not apply to services provided by a carer under contract or by volunteer members of a voluntary organisation.

Section 2 provides that, after carrying out an assessment of the needs of a carer, the health board must consider the assessment and decide whether the carer has needs in respect of the care which he or she provides or intends to provide; if so, whether those needs could be satisfied wholly or partly by services which the board may provide; and if they could be so satisfied, whether to provide services to the carer.

Section 5 abolishes the means test for payment of carer's allowance and section 6 amends the Health Act 1970 by substituting a new section for section 61 which deals with the home help service. This service is currently provided on a discretionary rather than a mandatory basis. That is in contrast, for example, with the home nursing service. The new section 6 substitutes the word "shall" for "may", thus making provision of the service mandatory. It requires that the service be provided free of charge to those with full eligibility under the Health Acts.

I sincerely urge the incoming Minister for Social and Family Affairs to progress these issues in a serious manner. However, I also urge him to shake up his Department and ensure he is not fed with tired clichés but rather that he will be presented with a little more innovation in the handling of important issues. Ministerial responses hiding behind clichés such as "any plans to change this situation would have to considered in a budgetary context" are no longer acceptable. I publicly challenge the Minister to come up with more innovative responses than those to which I have referred, which could be pre-programmed into any word processor.

I ask Members to offer new hope to full-time carers, to their families and to the disabled people they look after. We can set new standards and new directions in this area if we have the collective will to do so. We can start by voting in favour of the motion.

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