Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to what people on all sides of the debate have had to say. It is useful to recap at this juncture on what we are agreed on. We are all agreed that it is better for older people to live and be cared for at home. There is a unanimous view across the House on this matter. We know that aside from the social desirability and the dignity concerns of people living and being cared for at home, this adds up economically. We are, I believe, also agreed on that.

The Carers' Association, the voluntary organisation for carers throughout the country, was in Leinster House today on a lobbying exercise because it, like others, is fearful of what might come in December's budget. The association usefully set out in tabular format, in euro and cent, why it makes cost savings sense to care for people in their own homes. They have that argument won, game, set and match. I believe we all subscribe to that view, which is what makes the Minister's position on this matter all the more astonishing. Unlike others, a year and a half into the term of office of this Government, I am not very surprised that the Minister would try again to hit at those he deems to be vulnerable. I am not surprised that Deputies from across the Labour and Fine Gael parties are now so craven that they will come into this Chamber and defend what they know to be indefensible and try to point to a distraction and run for cover. None of that surprises me. That is the Government's form. What does astonish me, when something is not just self-evidently right and equitable but also cost effective, is that this Government, which obsesses on the need for adjustments, fiscal responsibility and good housekeeping, would turn its face from the evidence which tells it the smart and economic thing to do is to ensure people are cared for at home. This is not what the Government wants to do.

There has been a 20% cut in home help hours since 2008. Precisely half of those cuts have been and will be made under the watch of the current Minister. Between February 2011 to the end of this year, there will have been a drop of one million hours from the system. The Government should not rewind the tape and say this is all the fault of Fianna Fáil. This is the choice of the Fine Gael and Labour parties. They are choosing to impose these cuts. The drop in the number of hours has and will continue to have further real consequences for people. Deputy Adams gave one example, namely, an elderly woman returning home after a hip replacement with mobility issues to be insulted with the offer of half an hour's home help. I do not know whether the Minister has experience of getting a child ready for school, bathing a child or caring for an older person. One will not get a whole lot done within half an hour for an elderly person who is in any way compromised. One will do even less for that person if his or her allocation is as low as 15 minutes. One of my constituents, who has complex health needs and a complex medical history, was allocated 15 minutes home help. That is the time allowed to the carer for this person to be taken from bed and bathed. Those tasks will not be done in 15 minutes. The real cynicism of this approach is that the Minister knows that carers and home help staff epitomise the decency of community and voluntary effort and public service. He is counting on the probability that while only 15 minutes is officially allocated and paid for, the decent carer will remain on and see the person right. The Minister is gambling on that decency, which makes his cynicism all the more disgusting to me.

The Government amendment to the motion is curious and revealing in terms of its being full of self-congratulation, welcoming all and sundry and giving itself a great pat on the back. Perhaps the Minister will answer this question. What has he to be proud of in terms of the removal of €8 million worth of home help hours from the system, leaving older, vulnerable and, in many cases, sick people in such jeopardy? Why would anyone with a grain of decency or sanity welcome that? During the course of this debate, one of the Minister's colleagues, a member of the Fine Gael Party, chided members of Sinn Féin for their emotion. He ran the predictable line around identifying sources of funding. The Deputy knows full well that we accept that services must be funded. He also knows full well that this year, like every other year, Sinn Féin will put forward its proposals on that score. The Deputy concerned stated in the course of his contribution that everyone is against cuts. Is that really the case? Is everyone in this House against cuts to home help hours? Was the Deputy speaking for Fine Gael? Is that party against cuts to home help hours? If that was a statement of fact, the Government would not have tabled an amendment to this motion and every Deputy would do right by carers, home help staff and the elderly by supporting the Sinn Féin motion.

Often when criticisms are made of policy decisions, adjustments and cutbacks, the Government's cover is that the quantum of savings is so great it has no option but to face into what it deems to be a tough choice for it. This mean-minded, indecent cut to home help will save just €8 million. In the grander scheme of the health budget, that is loose change. I do not know how, taking account of value for money and the real needs of citizens in their homes, the Minister can, with any credibility, argue for or proceed with these cuts.

He was forced by people with disabilities to back down from his proposal to take personal assistants from them. He should, if he has any semblance of decency, voluntarily retreat from these cuts in respect of home helps. He will sow the seeds of his own disaster if he proceeds with this cut. The acute hospitals are over-budget and under strain on his watch, and he knows this. He is averse to public nursing home beds and he certainly has closed enough of them. The next line of attack is in respect of home helps. A cut like this will mean greater illness and vulnerability among older people. It will mean more of them will need more expensive medical intervention, more of them will be in hospital and, sadly, given the current state of the service, it will mean more of our elderly citizens will be on hospital trolleys.

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