Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. I am pleased that the Government has decided not to oppose it.

There have been many improvements in the nursing home situation under fair deal scheme. The waiting time has halved in the past year from eight weeks to four. At one stage it was up to 15 and 16 weeks. The number on the waiting list has fallen from 1,265 in May 2014 to 557 in May of this year. The fact that €44 million was invested to reduce the number of those on the waiting lists for 15 weeks means it is now four weeks, down from 11 weeks earlier this year. I welcome this.

I wish to raise one problem in respect of the fair deal scheme. It concerns people who are at home, are emergency cases and need direct access to the nursing home from home rather than from hospital. Given that there is not the same detailed medical evidence on their conditions, only a recommendation by a GP, the assessment can be delayed. Nursing homes are obviously very reluctant if a person cannot pay. However, some people have some money with which they can pay for the nursing home. If someone has €5,000 and the cost of a nursing home is €800 to €1,000 per week, that is enough for five weeks. If, because of a delay, the assessment is not made within five weeks, the situation becomes very difficult for the nursing home, the family and the patient. Now they are unable to pay for the nursing home.

Going back some time, there was backdating once the application came through. That was suspended by the previous Government. It should be looked at in respect of how we handle patients' nursing home requirements and recommendations from GPs to access a nursing home. There should be some short circuit to ensure they get the same opportunity as those in a hospital situation. In a hospital situation, in most cases patients are kept in the hospital until the fair deal comes into operation. The same difficulty does not arise for the family and the patient also gets faster assessment because there are consultant reports, X-rays and other forms of medical evidence.

Fine Gael believes it is very important that older people should be supported to live at home as long as possible. The Government will continue to implement policies to support this objective. We know there are people in nursing homes who could be facilitated in the community in their own homes with more assistance. I welcome the fact that the Government has already restored certain payments for older people with increases in living allowances for the first time since 1996 and partial restoration of the Christmas bonus. This contrasts with the previous Government's record in office. It abolished the Christmas bonus, which was effectively cutting the State pension. It cut the carer's allowance, disability allowance, blind pension, widows pension and invalidity pension twice.

I congratulate the Technical Group on bringing this motion forward.

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