Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. We are here to discuss the findings of the report of the Ombudsman. The Minister for Health and Children and the Department have come in for a considerable amount of unfair criticism. It is appropriate that the Minister should have sought to defend and protect the interests of the State as she saw fit. There is an issue of jurisdiction, which was challenged by the Minister on the basis of legal advice. It was appropriate to defend the interests of the State. Going through the detailed correspondence between the Ombudsman and the office of the Minister, it is clear there was great co-operation between the two. However, the analysis of the report seems to suggest otherwise. It is unfortunate that the Minister has been drawn into this debate when clearly her role is to defend the interests of the State against future litigation that may arise.

One need only look back to how we got to where we are. There is little doubt there was continuous failure by successive Governments to address the lacuna that existed in the law in respect of charging patients with medical cards for residential units run by the State. I was one of the few who spoke out against the rush by some to seek recompense for a damn good service provided to their loved ones at a time when they were unwilling or unavailable to do so. Sadly, many people queued up to take the bounty and run. It was appropriate to face up to the situation and deal with it constructively. Congratulations are due to the Minister for Health and Children.

My experience of the system now in place, commonly referred to as the fair deal scheme, is that it is universally accepted. It is a good scheme that assists many people in a uniform way. The previous subvention scheme provided different rates in different parts of the country. Someone living in Dublin did better or worse than someone living in Clare and that is not the way a system of administration should be allowed to continue. I do not direct these comments at the Ombudsman. In that era, when a system of inequity existed, there was justification for a negative finding from the Ombudsman. We did not have one to the best of my knowledge. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the Minister comes in for criticism when people across successive parties failed to address the issue for their own reasons. Now the Minister is pushed out by the Ombudsman when she was the first to grapple with a complex problem and resolve it conclusively. It is to the benefit of many families who had to deal with the situation as it existed. A good level of service is provided and the current system encourages the public and private sector.

The constituency with which I am most familiar has a fantastic necklace of service providers in the public and private sectors. I am very familiar with one close to where I live, Raheen Community Hospital, which provides an excellent residential service for people with longstay requirements. In conjunction with that, daycare service is provided through daycare centres in areas such as Kilmaley, Clarecastle, Miltown Malbay, Kilrush and Lisdoonvarna. These facilities work well. They support the Government policy of retaining people in their homes and communities for the longest possible time. The building blocks exist in various home care packages, the public health nurse facility and home help to ensure people can continue to stay in their homes for as long as possible. Studies demonstrate that people's existence and longevity are enhanced by retaining them in a home setting around their family for as long as possible. It is unfortunate that we are addressing some extent an historic problem, one which will be dealt with in the courts at a later stage. It is wrong that we are now reflecting on one of a number of things that have been gotten right in more recent times in the delivery of health services.

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