Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Noel Rock for sharing time.

I welcome this timely debate which has shown there is a realistic view of the demographic challenge we are facing and the requirement for the Oireachtas and the Government to meet that challenge. My Department's latest "Health in Ireland - Key Trends" report highlights the growth in the number of people aged over 65 years. Each year the number in that age cohort increases by almost 20,000. Moreover, the largest proportional increases in population will be in the category of those aged 85 years and older. We all want the health needs of our older loved ones to be met in a way that supports them to enable them to stay for as long as possible in their homes and communities. It is Government policy that long-term nursing home care should be a last resort. We wish to develop home care services to provide a more viable alternative to nursing home care for a greater number of people.

We have made progress in this area. The overall funding for services for older people available to the HSE in 2017 has increased to €765 million. Home care accounts for almost 50% of this budget. Since my party returned to government in 2016, the budget for home care has increased by a further €65 million, including measures taken under the winter initiative. The number of people in receipt of home care packages will increase from 15,450 to 16,750 this year. Within hospitals, we are in the process of developing a special care pathway for older people who have to attend emergency departments. We must respect older people and treat them with dignity, not leave them waiting with everybody else. We have introduced a reduction in prescription charges for medical card holders aged over 70 years which will benefit 300,000 people. All of this is about supporting older family members, friends and neighbours, recognising the contribution they have made to our society and the generations coming after them and ensuring they receive care that is tailored to their needs.

I agree that it is unacceptable that we do not have a statutory scheme for home care, given the evidence that this is what most older people want and that it best suits the needs of a large number of people. This issue has been overlooked by all of us for many years, but that ends now. I welcome the high degree of consensus on the issue. The work my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, is undertaking is vital. It is not enough to do this; we must do it right. We need to acknowledge the considerable differences between residential and home care. We must be careful not to pit one against the other or seek to impose arrangements for one or the other with unworkable consequences. We must respect the informal arrangements many people have made in their homes and recognise the difference between a private residence and a nursing home. We need a properly funded and organised system that will work for all older people, those who can be cared for at home and those who need and wish to receive nursing home care.

I thank Deputy Willie O'Dea for bringing forward the Bill and his constructive engagement with the Minister of State in the past week. It is about finding a way forward such that we, as an Oireachtas can say, regardless of party affiliation, that we will work together to get this done. We are all moving in the same direction, but there is frustration all around that we have not moved faster. However, we must proceed carefully on this matter. The Minister of State's step in launching a public consultation process is an important one. We need to hear older people's voices and ensure we will have a scheme that is not just designed by politicians or the Civil Service but one that will have older people at its very centre. Consulting stakeholders is not a stalling tactic. It is what one does when one wishes to treat people with dignity. We must ensure older people and those who care for them are listened to as part of this process. The Minister of State has also commissioned a review by the Health Research Board which will look at best practice in three other countries and see how we can apply it in Ireland. That will be invaluable.

I pay tribute to Mr. Brendan Courtney for his courage and that of his family in helping to ignite this important debate. He is engaging with the Minister of State and many others in this House. We will let not his family and the many families like them down. I reiterate that we are determined to do this right. I look forward to seeing this considerable work being advanced on a cross-party basis, with continued co-operation across the House, in order to deliver the best possible outcome for older people.

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