Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)

There is a basic inequity in the making of assessments and a disparity in nursing home subventions in different parts of the country. Unfortunately in the western region, the subvention is lower than in other areas. I have raised this with the Tánaiste but she has given the standard answer that the HSE is the body responsible etc. It is not good enough for the Tánaiste to wash her hands of this disparity by saying the scheme is administered by the HSE, thereby attempting to distance herself from any blame for this unacceptable method of dealing with elderly people. When those elderly people were paying tax, there were no graduated contributions, they paid the full amount regardless of their capacity. People in the west paid the same tax as those in east. When it comes to care in their twilight years, there should be no discrimination and every senior citizen in this country requiring nursing home care should be treated equally.

It is no defence for the Tánaiste to hide behind the HSE. She is the Minister for Health and Children and the buck stops with her. She should immediately take the necessary steps to rectify this situation. As a democrat she should ensure all citizens are treated equally and fairly. Senior citizens are depending on her for protection.

It is no coincidence that elderly people in the west are treated as second class citizens. The Government thinks that second rate treatment is acceptable for those in the west, as we see from the absence of the BreastCheck programme. Why are we being treated like this? For women in the region, it will be 2009 at the earliest before the first cycle of BreastCheck will be completed. It is unacceptable that such discrimination should occur. All women should be treated equally.

I welcome this Bill. It sets an existing scheme on a sound footing. It is important that we place it in the context of the problems surrounding nursing homes in the State. The regulatory regime has been found wanting, with tragic consequences for many older people. Most of those providing private nursing home care do so efficiently but there are also many institutions where standards are poor. The State has still not invested resources to regulate this sector properly. It must act now before there are more scandals like that in Leas Cross nursing home.

The Bill makes provision for the assessment of older people's means when they apply for subvention but there is no provision for accountability on the part of the proprietors of nursing homes and no check to establish if they are providing the range and quality of care needed by the older people who will benefit from the HSE subvention. An ongoing assessment must be put in place. The current lack of regulation and an independent nursing homes inspectorate is intolerable. It is incredible that in a modern society, care for the elderly is being overlooked in this fashion. Many of the elderly currently in nursing homes are responsible for the success this country is now experiencing, they have worked hard all their lives and have made the Irish State what it is today and we owe them a debt of gratitude. At a minimum, we owe it to them to ensure they have a proper lifestyle and are treated with dignity and respect.

To be sure this happens in our nursing homes there must be proper regulation. The inspectorate should be for public, private and voluntary nursing homes and should have the resources and powers to allow it to carry out its functions. It is vital that the inspectorate is made up of the appropriate professionals to inspect all aspects of the service. The reports of all inspections must be available to the public free of charge so there will be transparency about standards in nursing homes. People cannot be put away in substandard conditions. The elderly are vulnerable and we cannot ignore issues about the standards of care in nursing homes.

The lack of funding for special housing aid for the elderly, specifically in east Galway, is a scandal. The failure of the Government to make adequate funding available to elderly people to enable essential repair work in their homes is deplorable.

The special housing aid scheme for the elderly funds essential work on houses owned by people over 65 years of age who live in unfit or unsanitary conditions. The works that can be funded are basic and essential, such as providing indoor toilet facilities or fixing leaking roofs in houses where the elderly resident cannot afford to carry out the work. There is no more money, however, to carry out work in east Galway for the remainder of the year. The authorities are advising people not to apply and that is deplorable. It is a terrible way to treat senior citizens who have made a contribution to society and who find themselves living in substandard conditions. By not providing these funds, the Government is creating a problem whereby more nursing home beds will be needed because people cannot be expected to live in houses that have leaking roofs or no indoor toilet facilities. It is sad that our elderly citizens who have worked hard and helped make this country what it is are being treated so badly by our Government. I appeal to the Minister, if nothing else, to take up that issue with his Government colleagues to ensure this scandal is addressed immediately.

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