Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the distinct advantages of the Irish political system is that the vast majority of public representatives are very much in touch with how people are feeling and the effects of Government and State decisions on their everyday lives. Some people criticise us and refer to clientelism and say we are wasting our time holding clinics. I can attest to the fact that every week when I hold clinics across County Limerick, the three issues most often raised are medical cards, access to fair deal and the accident and emergency crisis in University Hospital Limerick. As a public representative for Limerick I know that the elderly in Limerick are a very worried bunch of people because of the crisis which has developed in the access to fair deal.

In January and February of this year, the waiting time for approval was four weeks; in April and May it had increased to seven and eight weeks; in June to September it rose to 12 to 14 weeks; and in October it peaked at 15 weeks. It is unacceptable that people have to wait so long for approval for their funding. Unfortunately, many of those people, by virtue of their physical condition and infirmity, have no choice but to go to a nursing home. They are then forced to carry the cost of the nursing home bed while awaiting for the allocation of fair deal funding. This is not good enough.

The Minister as well as the people who are participating in this debate live in the real political world. We know that politics is about choices and priorities. The budget was a giveaway to people who earn €80,000, €90,000, €100,000 and in excess of €100,000.

See this speech in context