Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

This is one of the most dreadful Bills to come before the House and this section remains intact, despite the Minister tinkering around its edges. The principle will be established that the family home should be assessed in the means tests for services. The family home is not assessed in applications for higher education grants, medical cards or social welfare payments. It is exempt from any payment. If I fall ill and enter hospital, there is no question of the value of my family home being taken into account when assessing the cost of my stay but if I am over 65 years and I am too ill to stay at home, the family home will be assessed as means against my costs and I will also be liable for 80% of my income and all my valuables, including jewellery. These will be taken into account as means against the full cost of availing of a largely privatised service. The State has decided to privatise services for the elderly which are bought and sold as a commodity, which is immoral.

This is the first and only time this has occurred and the Minister of State is providing that in certain circumstances he will reduce or write off the liability. However, that will not address the principle involved. For the first time in the history of the State, a means test will require the sale of the family home in certain circumstances. For example, I refer to a brother and sister who live together with the sister having been left the family home by her parents. He is working for the county council as a road worker and she requires long-term care. The family home would have to be sold to pay the State the costs it would levy against her when she died. That is cruel and savage and it is unbelievable that it would be so. The Labour Party has undertaken that if it is returned to Government following the election, it will repeal and abolish this rotten legislation. I appeal to the Minister of State, who is in a difficult position, as he must do the bidding of more senior people. I do not blame him personally for this problem because his inclination would be similar to mine in this regard but I appeal to him to refer the legislation to his principals and not to force it through using the Government majority.

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