Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

Many people remain unsure about their future, which is why we need clear Government policy on the matter. Elderly people are often more concerned about their future than are younger people. While young people know they can work, elderly people may be living on a pension or their resources. Only 3% of elderly people end up in nursing homes. As with Deputy Cowley, I fully support keeping people in the community, which is what we would all like to see.

We need clarification on the ten point plan as many points in the plan focus on the elderly, for example, the 100 places for high dependency beds, the step-down facilities and the home care package. The Tánaiste should clarify how people can avail of the home care package and how much money is available to individuals. While we get inquires on the package, we can get no information on it. Considerable fudge and bureaucracy are associated with it, which is the point of my amendment. People should know the Government policy regarding what future holds for the elderly. While this applies to those in the community, it is far more expensive for those who end up in private nursing home care. I accept that we should try to keep people in the community, as it is the easier and cheaper option. However, when patients end up needing more high-dependency care it is a huge cost.

Like Deputy Ó Caoláin, I have come across two cases of patients selling their houses and using those resources to fund their own private nursing home care. It has more or less taken political intervention to resolve their problems when they ran out of funds. This is not the way forward for caring for the elderly. No elderly person should need to come cap in hand to any politician to look after them in their old age. For those who spend their own resources to the degree that they sell their houses, when their money runs out we should have an automatic switchover period with more help from the State. This was not forthcoming in the cases with which I dealt. They relied on me as a politician. While I have some expertise in the area, many politicians do not have such expertise in the care for the elderly. This should not be the case now. As this amendment has not been ruled out of order, it should be agreed in order to allow us to have a policy on the elderly. I have included private nursing homes in my amendment as they are either more difficult to attain or very expensive for the individual, which is why I wish to press the amendment.

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