Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

Other Deputies have made the point that we should be interested in the care of the elderly because we are all getting older. The constituency of Dublin South-West, which I represent, is generally accepted as having a young population. There are more than 26,000 young people at school in Tallaght, which is the third largest centre of population in the country. Although Tallaght has a young population, it is an aging population. The challenges of the aging population are presented acutely in many areas, including the area that is so ably represented by my colleague, Deputy Mulcahy. I know the Minister of State understands the challenges we face.

I often say that I bring to politics my experiences and those of my constituency. I have been contacted by, and received some correspondence from, my constituents about the issue of repayments to the elderly, which is of concern to many people. Some Members will be aware that Tallaght, despite what I said about the profile of its population, is lagging behind in its provision of nursing home accommodation. It is clear that this matter will have to be examined by the planners in the Department of Health and Children and the HSE. Elderly women in the Tallaght community have been cared for in St. Brigid's home at Crooksling in Brittas, which does a tremendous job, for quite some time. Kiltipper Woods care centre on the Kiltipper Road in Tallaght, which was developed recently, is a tremendous facility that offers a tremendous service to the local area.

I have often mentioned that many constituents contact me to highlight the need for accommodation for the elderly, which is an issue that upsets people. I have encountered similar circumstances in my family, for example when an elderly uncle went to a nursing home when he was no longer able to cope. He was very happy at the nursing home, even though it was in Bray, which is a long way from his local area of Iveagh Buildings in the inner city. He thought he was a long way from home. Many of my constituents continue to speak to me about nursing home needs and facilities.

Members are aware that I live within sight of Tallaght Hospital, which faces many challenges. I spoke about Tallaght in a positive way during the debate on accident and emergency services in the House earlier this week. I referred to the challenges which are faced by Tallaght Hospital, like many other hospitals in the region. The number of beds in Tallaght Hospital relates to the provision of care for the elderly in the area. Families are encountering challenges, as far as people in beds are concerned, in Tallaght Hospital, St. James's Hospital and all the other hospitals in the Dublin region.

I would like to be associated with the comments of Deputies who spoke positively about the home help scheme. I remind the Minister of State that it is important that we understand the merits of the scheme. A very successful home help project in Tallaght is run by the Tallaght Welfare Society, of which I am a board member as a volunteer. The project employs 150 home help workers, who care for more than 450 elderly people. I agree with Deputy Mulcahy that such projects represent the way forward at a time when there is a great deal of pressure on our hospitals and facilities. I strongly believe the way forward is to care for people at home, for example by helping them to be comfortable and safe in their homes and offering a great deal of support and assistance, which is what they want. I hope it is something we will continue to consider as we make progress.

I want to refer briefly to practices in nursing homes, specifically to a practice I recently raised with the Department which is being examined by the HSE. I have to be careful when speaking about it, as I do not know how widespread it is. I have been told that the pension books of elderly people who are in public beds in nursing homes are being retained in some cases. Family members of some elderly people have raised this issue with me because they are wondering about the legality of the practice. They do not know whether the practice is allowed. It is right that an issue of this nature should be raised during this debate. I hope the Department will tease it out.

I heard the Tánaiste speaking about the former health boards. I do not normally disagree with her. I was a member of the former Eastern Health Board from 1994 and the founder chairman of the former South-Western Area Health Board, which was based in Naas. That was my background for over ten years. While the former structures were not quite right in some respects, I felt there was some merit in the system whereby representatives of health boards visited various institutions, particularly nursing homes. The Tánaiste has said she does not want public representatives to check systems etc., and perhaps that is fair enough. This debate raises the question of accountability of public and private nursing homes. If public representatives do not have an opportunity to visit some of these institutions under the HSE structures, as they did under the health board structures, to see what is going on, some other sort of system needs to be put in place. I do not suggest that the system whereby public representatives visited the institutions was perfect, as that was clearly not the case, but it did a job. I have listened to people raising concerns during this debate and I am sure many more concerns will be raised. I am not criticising the industry in so far as that is concerned. However, there is a need for accountability and the Department needs to find out what is going on. There have been a number of well publicised cases in recent times where questions have been raised in that regard. The Minister of State will understand that people have questions to ask. The public would like to see better accountability as regards nursing homes which are earning very good money in caring for the elderly, and perhaps he might look at that.

The public is very anxious that this issue should finally be put to bed. I do not want to be too party political in front of my good colleague, Deputy Perry, but Fianna Fáil has been responding to the needs of the elderly over a very long period. It is only right that successive Governments should do that. I am proud that at the end of this year the next budget will affirm the Government's absolute commitment to looking after the elderly. As regards pensions, our targets from the previous general election will be well met. I hope this is something that will continue.

At this morning's conference on lone parents in Farmleigh I made the point that there are another 400 days or thereabouts before a general election, or so it is said. Many issues will be raised and certainly health will be one of them. Future provision and care for the elderly merits pride of place among all the important issues requiring our attention in the lead-up to the general election. I hope people will not be vying with each other to decide what will be offered in terms of election promises. The elderly deserve the support they receive from the political system, and that is as it should be. As the number of elderly people — including many of us in this Chamber — grows over the next decade or so, it is important that we continue to do that.

Many public representatives have been asked by different organisations and committees about the delay in introducing the legislation. It is important to recall that following the Supreme Court decision in February 2004, the Department understood that a number of implications had to be dealt with. The judgment required detailed consideration to ensure that all the consequences for policy and law arising from it were taken on board in a positive and responsible manner. We now know that a Cabinet sub-committee was formed to consider all the implications of the decision, especially the issue of a repayments scheme to repay the moneys owed.

The Government announced in May the key parameters of the repayments scheme that had been agreed. It was deemed that legislation was required, given the scale of the repayments involved and because some of the recipients were among the most vulnerable people in society. Legislation was also required to put appropriate safeguards in place to prevent fraud and the exploitation of those who receive the repayments and who are not in a position to manage their financial affairs. That is an important point, as has been stressed by many groups and organisations. I hope these repayments will go to the people who deserve them and that the moneys are not spent on administration.

Legislation is also required to ensure that those applying for refunds receive them as soon and as expeditiously as possible. My colleague, Deputy Mulcahy, made a suggestion which I support. While I do not want to tie anyone up in bureaucracy, as the Government convenor on the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I agree that it has a role to play in monitoring the situation and in keeping an eye out for the public interest. I am a strong supporter of the Oireachtas committee system. It is very important that it is used properly. Sometimes we read in the media that the Dáil is on holidays yet again. It is not pointed out, however, that many of our colleagues attend joint committee meetings, as was the case last week and this week again. The Joint Committee on Health and Children is one of the busier forums in that regard.

I am pleased to note that the simplified applications process was an aspect the Government chose to concentrate on to ensure it was as user-friendly as possible. I am also glad that the Tánaiste took account of the need to ensure that adequate provisions were in place for the project. It is clearly significant legislation and this is an important debate. It is not a question of rubber-stamping matters, but I hope the Bill will be passed and implemented as quickly as possible.

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