Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The assessment of farmers' land for the fair deal scheme is very unfair. I am not sure whether the stock on the land would be valued as well and thrown into the mix. This issue is creating stress and concern for the son or whoever is taking charge of the farm in that they might be landed with this unreasonable cost. It is unfair. It is their asset for generating income. In many cases it has been handed down from father to son going back years. If this rule is applied, some young farmers will not be able to continue to farm or make ends meet.

I was made aware of a problem facing a publican who lived in the pub. His wife needed to go into a nursing home but they encountered the same problem. The same problem is being faced by publicans and small shopkeepers who live over their shops or in the premises from which they operate their business. That is not fair. We need to address this problem for people applying for the fair deal scheme as soon as possible because it is very serious and is causing great concern to many people.

I do not believe the plain packaging of cigarettes will be of any benefit or use because as all Members are aware, cigarettes are an addiction.

It does not make any difference whether it is in a mug or a box, people will get a cigarette when they really need it. The shape or colour of that box will not prevent them from buying it.

However, I believe the battle is being lost. There is a lovely congregation of youngsters in the Gallery who should hear this point. It appears to me that more youngsters than ever are smoking. I can understand that in the case of people gone by or who now are moving on in years, there were no Government warnings or health warnings when they started smoking. However, I am very disappointed the youngsters do not appear to be heeding the health warnings at present. I am worried because as all Members are aware, they have caused many people to depart this life long before they should have. The issue must be addressed with some other type of campaign because sadly, the youngsters do not appear to be heeding the health warnings they have been getting.

I must raise a few important matters in respect of health. Health is wealth and it is not good enough that in a hospital like Cork University Hospital, people must wait for four weeks for surgery to get a triple or quadruple bypass after having a heart attack. The reason is no beds were available for the patient's recovery after the surgery and that is not good enough. Can the Minister of State imagine the distress one man's family endured for almost four weeks while waiting for a badly-needed operation? This cannot be allowed to continue. I am familiar with another case in which another person is waiting in a primary care centre at present to get a bed and to be operated upon. The reason the operation is delayed is because no bed is available for the patient after the operation. This is not good enough. Many people approach me in my clinics or contact me on the telephone in respect of cataract operations, which are at a standstill in County Kerry. It is sad to think of a man I met a couple of weeks ago who only has 20% vision left in his second eye but who has been told he must wait for another two years. That man is almost stone blind and is afraid to go out. He lives in a town but cannot go down the street. He is a prisoner, marooned inside his house. That is not good enough and I ask the Minister of State to relay the message that this must be dealt with and treated as being extremely urgent. As for orthodontic treatment, youngsters in County Kerry are told they must wait for three or four years. This is not good enough because their gums then will become too strong, the treatment will not be as effective and they probably will have lost teeth by the time they are treated. Such matters must be a priority in the budget. I do not know whether it is a matter of money or whatever but it must be seen to and dealt with and I ask the Government to do just that. On home help, I was told that County Kerry was to receive €900,000 for home help out of the funding of €40 million the Minister made available to improve health services nationwide. This week, however, an 89 year old woman born in 1927 had two hours of home help per week cut to one hour, which I cannot understand.

The sad part is I can see no accountability. If a question is asked at the regional health forum in the county buildings in Cork, one is told they will write to the Minister or Department of Health. In the Dáil, the answer invariably is the Minister will contact the Health Service Executive. That is not good enough and this system must be changed in order that someone is accountable to someone else. Members are accountable to the people who elect us; they will not elect us unless we do what they ask of us. In the same way, those who are responsible for delivering the health service should be accountable to the Minister, the Government or the elected representatives because I cannot see them doing what the people want or what is needed and urgent matters are being held up. People are being held up because they only have a medical card. Can the Minister of State imagine telling an 83 year old man he must wait for a year and a half or for two years before having a hip operation? That man stays awake every night until he is worn out. He does not fall asleep until some time around 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. and he hears the clock striking every hour throughout the night. It is wrong to leave elderly people to suffer in pain after what they have given to the country over the years. It is no way to treat elderly people and the same is true of knee operations. Such people are obliged to wait too long and are enduring too much pain. I reiterate to the Minister of State that the HSE must be made more accountable to the Department, the Minister and the elected representatives.

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