James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delivering on hospital groups which will enable care to be delivered closer to home in local communities, which will benefit everyone, especially older people. With the introduction of clinical programmes and the piloting of the model of money following the patient, we are ensuring high quality and safe care in our hospitals for everyone, including older people.

The ongoing reforms in health and social care will ensure older people receive safe, timely and efficient care and treatment at the lowest level of complexity that is safe, timely and efficient as close to home as possible. As a result, there will be fewer hospital admissions with care closer to home provided in local communities. This will result in less travelling for older people. More older people will be able to live in their homes for as long as possible rather than going into long-stay nursing home care.

We also have the frail elderly clinical programme which allows older people, once their medical problem is resolved, to start on a course of rehabilitation immediately resulting in fewer people having to go into long-term care before their time. Older people will not be treated differently in the health service just because they are classified as older people.

Despite the extremely difficult financial situation the country is facing, the Government has worked hard to ensure more than 90% of people aged over 70 continue to have access to free GP care, whether through a medical card or a GP-visit card. Every person over 70 who relies solely on the State pension continues to qualify for a medical card. Indeed many pensioners of this age who also have private income will continue to qualify. Those who do not qualify on means alone but who face significant health costs can still qualify for a medical card under the discretionary arrangements operated by the HSE.

I emphasise that no one who is entitled to medical card coverage will lose their card as a result of the probity measures announced in the budget. Older people have nothing to fear in that regard. I remain committed to ensuring resources are directed to those who need them most. The Government remains committed to providing free GP care to the entire population because this will ensure patients are diagnosed early and treated more effectively in their communities. This is a vital step to dismantling the obscene inequity of a two-tier system though the implementation of the universal insurance scheme. Those over 70 who are no longer entitled to a medical card will still have access to free GP care and the safety net of the drugs payment scheme, meaning they will have to pay no more than €144 per month per household for medicines.

This year, the nursing homes support scheme will support more than 22,000 people, the majority of whom are older people, in meeting the cost of long-term residential care, at a cost of €970 million. I know the great majority of older people want to remain in their homes for as long as possible and to be supported in doing that.

To honour their wishes in 2013 funding of over €390 million was provided for community services for older people. In addition, this year we will provide 10.3 million hours of home help to over 50,000 people. Almost 11,000 home care packages are in place and a further 20,000 people have day care places. However, we always seek to do better for older people and to this end a review of the nursing homes support scheme is currently under way. A key question for the review is how to achieve a better balance between residential care and care in the community in line with the desires of most older people.

As a doctor I know only too well that the onset of Alzheimer's disease or dementia can be a devastating blow to a family. However, it is important to recognise that many people live well and happily for a long time after dementia enters the picture and there is much that can be done to make each personal journey better. To this end I have convened an expert working group to consider how we can provide a better response to people with Alzheimer's disease or dementia and the group will publish its work early next year.

Age should be no barrier to active participation in all dimensions of Irish society. Our positive ageing strategy calls for a shift in how, as a society, we think about growing older. We all have much to learn from the skills and experiences of older people and our strategy is geared to ensuring that older people can continue to make a strong and positive contribution in our society. I daresay no one in the Chamber does not wish to grow old in comfort.

I reiterate my personal commitment to the welfare of older people. It is a commitment that applies throughout the members of my Cabinet and their Departments. We will never regard or treat older people as anything other than people, full and valued members of our society whose efforts and sacrifices have built this nation.

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