Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

We can welcome the fact that the Government has changed the limit to €300 but serious concerns remain about costs in private nursing homes. There is a big increase in the number of patients having to use private nursing homes as opposed to nursing homes. The Government has not moved to provide public nursing homes even though a clear commitment was given to provide more high dependency nursing home beds. The figures being talked about by the Government are inadequate, which means that patients will still require private nursing homes.

The €300 is an improvement but the three subvention rates that are being abolished had been the same since 2001 and €300 is not much more than the upper level of high dependency subvention offered by the Government. This is being discussed in the House with the idea of 5% of the house value being taken into consideration, making it even more difficult for the elderly to access the nursing home subvention.

The Minister of State said there will be improvements in January, which are really the proposals being made by the Minister for Health and Children that patients will be assessed before they get nursing home care next year. There will be a NEPS style system for elderly people getting nursing home care. I am amazed some of the organisations representing elderly people are so sanguine about the Minister's proposals that they are not looking for more detail on what the Government has in mind. Many of them are already concerned, however, about the death tax the Government wants to impose on the elderly and the fact they are taking 80% of the income of anyone who is an inpatient.

We are debating three major health Bills — this Bill, the Health Bill, which will establish the Health Information and Quality Authority, and the Medical Practitioners Bill. The cutbacks in time to discuss the legislation are only outdone by the cutbacks the Government has made to the health services. It is ridiculous. This debate can finish at 5 p.m. because we are only dealing with these amendments and we already know the Government has no interest in hearing the Opposition's views, but the Health Bill is also being guillotined and that legislation is seriously flawed. Some Fianna Fáil backbenchers know more about the flaws in that Bill than members of the Cabinet. I have also heard that Second Stage of the Medical Practitioners Bill will be taken between 10 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. on Friday, 23 February. We waited 30 years for legislation to protect patients from bad doctors. We have all heard of Harold Shipman and doctors who have been struck off in Britain coming here and practising. Fianna Fáil has been in power for most of those 30 years and now the Government tells us the full Second Stage debate will take only four and a half hours. It is ridiculous.

The Government should have offered the elderly more. The Minister of State knows damn well that €300 is not enough.

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