Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I attended a meeting in St. Raphael's in Celbridge on Sunday. St. Raphael's is run by the St. John of God Brothers and the meeting was called to explain the new HSE long-stay charges. While the Health Act 2005 provided for charges, the context was the illegal charging of elderly people in nursing homes. I looked at the speech made by Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, at the time and it focused heavily on the elderly. Indeed, the explanatory memorandum states that such weekly rate shall not exceed 80% of the maximum of the weekly rate of old age non-contributory pension within the meaning of the Social Welfare Acts.

We heard on Sunday of two categories of charges. Where a nurse is employed on a 24-hour basis, the charge is €120, and where the nurse is rostered for less than 24 hours the charge is €90. While I am focusing on St. Raphael's which cares for those with an intellectual disability, the charges also apply to those in community residences with a physical disability.

Many of those in the €90 category are occupied during the day with jobs in a sheltered environment on the campus. Some are in receipt of a social welfare payment of €168.50 per week but they will now be allowed to keep only €55. Many of these residents enjoy a trip to the cinema, bowling or selecting and buying their own clothes. This has a direct impact on them because €55 will not be enough.

A further category of people attached to St. Raphael's are in capital assisted houses with a house parent. This programme is paid for by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, while the house parent is paid for by the HSE. They live within the surrounding community. This group will not have anything deducted from their welfare payment — an equity issue. Some of those who live in St. Raphael's are on the housing waiting list and aspire to living in a house within the community. That option, however, is not available to them. Not only are their housing aspirations not being met, but they are having their independence curtailed.

A young man described to me how he takes his brother out each weekend. Their parents are dead and he has very limited means himself, so he is concerned that he not will be able to continue to do this. He is also concerned about how his brother's needs will be met in terms of clothing, shoes and incidentals. The mother of a girl who requires 24-hour care talked to me about the extra costs of replacing clothes because her daughter has behavioural problems. Many of those who were at the meeting on Sunday were elderly and, while the scheme allows for exceptional needs, many do not wish to ask for such help.

It is not at all clear if the annual allocation to St. Raphael's will be cut by the amount collected; indeed, the administration will be an additional burden. One man on Sunday expressed the view that the net result may be that administration will wipe out the earnings from the charges.

St. Raphael's, unlike private nursing homes, relies to a great extent on fund-raising by the parents and friends of the institution. On Sunday as the relatives of residents were arriving to hear about the new charges, tickets were being sold for another fund-raiser to keep the show on the road. Without this support the State would have to fully fund other services and it is short-sighted that the same people are being hit twice. The expert group had the opinion of three different barristers and came to the conclusion that unless the law was changed the charges would have to be imposed. This is a particularly vulnerable group in society, who are in effect paying the price for illegal charging of those in nursing homes.

Not everyone is born with an equal chance in life. Some people, through accident or illness, lose part or all of their independence. These charges are mean. They go nowhere near covering the cost of the care provided, but that is not the point. I ask that a commitment be given to reconsider this issue with a view to introducing legislation to right a wrong.

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