Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are all now, thankfully, living longer, and most of us will live independently for the rest of our lives. Less than 5% of all the elderly require care late in life, and all parties agree that every effort should be made to facilitate this in so far as possible in the comfort and security of their own homes. Fianna Fáil believes that the funding allocated to enable older people to remain at home provides not only the best value for money, but also the most humane result for older people. Many thousands of families help their loved ones to stay at home when they are ill or very frail, and they receive very little assistance from the State. This needs to change, especially to deal with the growing challenges of dementia care. Fianna Fáil will support the Rural Independent Group's motion.

I have had many discussions about this with the Minister of State. By 2040 there will be 1.4 million people in Ireland aged over 65, of whom 450,000 will be over 80. We all know that home helps, the people who work in this sector, are absolutely fantastic, and they are not paid a large amount. What many of the Deputies here will note is that the problem is not too bad from Monday to Friday because we are dependent on HSE staff. It is not always easy to get the correct package for one's patient or one's constituent, but once the package is allocated, nine times out of ten Monday to Friday seems to work pretty well. However, Saturday and Sunday can be a huge problem because we depend a lot on agency staff, who do not get paid as much as the HSE staff, which we all realise. On top of that, not all agencies pay the home care providers' travel expenses. This is particularly relevant for people living in rural areas. I dealt with such a case over the weekend in which someone is living 12 miles from Waterford city and the home care providers are only allocated a half an hour morning, midday and evening. However, it takes a half an hour to drive out to the house, a half an hour to give the service and a half an hour to drive back, and they do not get fuel allowance for this so they do not want to come out. I have found this to be a huge issue.

I also draw the Minister of State's attention to the fact that over 63% of the 55,000 people in this country with dementia live at home. Every day, 11 people in this country are diagnosed with dementia, and this will not change. Unfortunately, another 11 people probably go undiagnosed. These people who live at home with dementia need supports and intensive packages. I welcome what the Minister of State said earlier, that a lot is being done but that more needs to happen, because on 30 September of this year only 139 intensive home care packages were in place. That is a dismal number when one considers that we have, as I said, 55,000 people with dementia, 63% of whom live at home and are looking for support from carers.

I have been doing quite a lot of work with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. It is astonishing to learn that 58% of people who have dementia forget to eat, 54% forget that they have eaten and eat again, and 51% do not finish their meals. This is where the home care provider is so important. He or she comes in morning, lunchtime and evening, reminds the person living at home to eat his or her dinner, take his or her medication and, in some instances, go to the bathroom. These are small, simple things but they make all the difference for someone who can stay at home, have the wraparound supports he or she needs and be there with loved ones. These home care packages are a central part of community health care. They allow older people who may need assistance and support to stay in their homes rather than having to be treated in hospital, and as the motion quite rightly states, this is cost-effective.

Before I finish, I wish to refer to the Bill that my colleague, Deputy O'Dea, introduced earlier in the year, the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill. The Bill provides for people, instead of being allocated nursing homes under fair deal, to avail of the same hours in their home at a fraction of the cost. The Bill is waiting on a money message, and I appeal to the Minister of State to raise this with the Taoiseach.

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