John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. There is a problem and it is very obvious with the lengthening of the waiting time for approval under the fair deal scheme. I raised this a few weeks ago in a Topical Issue debate. I know from speaking to the Minister that he is very conscious of this issue and that it needs to be addressed. The problem is that the scheme is demand led and there is a limited amount of money to deal with it. Having said that, given the trauma experienced by the families involved it is important that they see some change or means of addressing the problem.

As short a time ago as last February, the waiting period was down to four weeks. In April, it expanded to six weeks. It expanded to seven to eight weeks in May and to 12 weeks in June. It is now 15 weeks. This merely outlines the problem. If families have to put their loved ones into a private nursing home for 15 or 16 weeks, they must stump up approximately €13,000, which causes all kinds of problems. I know families who have taken out loans to achieve this.

Effectively, the fair deal scheme is good. The Minister's problem, which has been outlined already this evening, is that there are 20,000 additional people over 65 every year, and there is an increase in the population over 80 of 4% per year. I welcome the fact that there is a review of the scheme and believe it must be made sustainable. The HSE service plan is due in the next couple of weeks. I presume and hope the issue will be addressed in that, certainly in the short term. People tell us the system is currently in crisis, but if the waiting lists are not reduced dramatically in the coming few months the problem will worsen.

Deputies on all sides of the House realise the difficulty associated with dealing with this issue but also realise the importance of addressing it. I have no doubt, having spoken to the Minister, that he has plans to address it in the short term. The issue will be ongoing unless there is some long-term solution found.

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