Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak in this debate on care for the elderly. Care for the elderly in our society must become an immediate priority for the Members of this House and, in particular, the Government. To date, it has a shameful record in terms of its attitude to the elderly. The elderly selflessly contributed to the development of this country at a time when life was much tougher and the rewards for their efforts were more difficult to obtain. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that the elderly in our society are no longer left at the bottom of the pile and that they receive the care and support they rightly deserve.

Dignity at any stage in one's life is essential. We must ensure that the citizens of this country maintain their dignity and have access to basic services. Those entitlements should be afforded to all but they are even more important for the elderly who should be able to live with dignity, have an adequate income, access to professional and timely health services and support to allow them live longer lives in the manner they wish.

Care for the elderly must be provided on many levels depending on the needs and wishes of the individual involved. This will range from low levels of dependency where individuals require little intervention, starting with weekly visits and monitored alarm systems, to the full-time dependency of nursing home care. In between those two scales are people being cared for by relatives, those requiring rehabilitative care and many more cases to be tailored for. The people caring for elderly relatives in their own homes must be commended in the way they provide that care with little or no financial assistance from Government.

The key to implementing any system, however, is to ensure that the needs of each individual at the opposing ends of the scale, as well as those in between, are met in a caring and compassionate manner. Many elderly people are keen to maintain their independence. Last week, I visited the Emergency Response social monitoring service in my constituency in Bunclody. Having seen the service provided by that organisation for elderly people living alone throughout the country, I was very impressed with the way it carries out the service and has a huge impact on the lives of many elderly people. I intend to contact the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, directly in regard to that service to ask him to consider improving the level of grant aid and facilitating improved grant application processes for community groups throughout the country who are interested in accessing the service for elderly people in their neighbourhoods. Initiatives such as this are invaluable and life-changing for many elderly people and we must do everything to ensure the service can be accessed without difficulty and without being hampered by bureaucracy by those who need it the most.

As we move up the dependency scale, there are people who require more intensive care. I have been very involved in the development of services through my work with St. John's Hospital in Enniscorthy and am very aware of the positive impact of the two 32-bed extended care wards built recently in which patients are now living. They are fortunate to have that facility. The proposed 20-bed unit for the elderly and mentally infirm under phase 2 is awaiting the go-ahead. That is of critical importance and funding for those types of services must be provided. The CSO figures have shown an 11% increase in the population of those over 65 years of age living in County Wexford. Assuming other counties have experienced similar increases, the figures underlie the need to ensure that services for the elderly are put in place without delay.

Another element of the care package about which I feel strongly is the role played by carers. Whether they are family members, relatives or home help carers, the work they provide is of immense value to this country. Certain families and individuals literally devote their lives to the care of loved ones and the time has come to ensure they are given proper recognition and support. We must back up that support in terms of assistance, advice, guidance and, most importantly, respite care.

I cannot emphasis enough the need for the completion of phase 2 of St. John's Hospital. I am disappointed that the Tánaiste is not in the House to hear Members' views on care of the elderly. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, to convey to the Department the importance of the provision of funding for phase 2 of St. John's Hospital in Enniscorthy.

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