Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed my colleague from south-west Cork, the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, left just before I was to speak on health issues, because he could relate to a lot of the difficult issues for many people in the constituency. I am delighted to be able to bring forward this motion this evening, along with my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group, and I thank Mairead in Deputy McGrath's office, and any other person who has given assistance in this regard.

This morning on Leaders' Questions, I again raised with the Taoiseach the issue of waiting lists with opthamologists in the HSE, and the HSE's failure to provide urgent operations for people throughout the country, especially cataract operations. The Minister of State and I know this is not the only failing of the HSE. As my colleagues said earlier this evening, there is a huge crisis in home care.

The entire health care system in this country is quite questionable. As recently as ten minutes ago, I received a call from a lady in Kinsale who has serious cancer and requires urgent treatment. She attended a clinic this morning expecting to be seen, but was turned away and told to come back on 27 December. This is appalling treatment of a human being who is suffering severely. It is a question that goes right to the core of our political system.

As recently as yesterday, I met a man in my constituency whose elderly mother was unable to avail of any home care, despite her age and frail demeanour. This person requires constant care and her family is able to provide only so much. They have been refused any sort of home help hours to date. In this motion, we call for the home care packages scheme to be established into law in order to allow everyone an automatic right to the services within the scheme.

The increased privatisation of community care in this country is a clear indication that the public system is not working for people. Last week, the country watched in horror at the RTÉ "Prime Time" carers in crisis programme. We saw that thousands of people all over the country spend virtually their entire lives looking after loved ones who are unable to care for themselves. In many cases the carers suffer ill health themselves. Census 2016 recorded a 35% increase in the number of carers who are aged 85 and over. Carers provide more than 6.5 million hours of care per week in Ireland. On average, carers care for their loved ones for almost the equivalent of a full 40-hour working week. Almost 9% provide full-time 24-hour unpaid care, with no real break at all. This is an outrageous attack on our elderly, and nothing short of abuse of the people who are caring for them.

What needs to happen here is on the first day that it is proven through medical evidence that a loved one requires care, a social welfare payment should be made to the carer. This would totally cut out the shambolic carry-on of leaving a carer five, six or seven months without a payment, which is nothing short of outrageous. Would the people whose job it is to apply the carer's allowance wait six months for their wages to come through? I highly doubt it, and we would not want them to do so, but we stand idly by as politicians and allow this to happen to people who are dedicated to their job and who, in many cases, work 24-7.

In recent months, works have been completed in Bandon Community Hospital for the elderly. These cost millions of euro, and much was funded by the local community. As of yet, the new facility remains closed, and many people are unable to get respite care in Bandon hospital at this time. In spite of my efforts, I have been pushed from one Minister to another in seeking an answer, which no one can give me. The greater Bandon community is left dismayed. Who is in charge of the health service in this country?

Our carers in this country do wonderful work, but they are hugely stretched and unable to receive any respite care for themselves. Our motion also calls for the Government and the Minister of State with responsibility for the elderly to increase home help hours so that an efficient service can be provided to more older people. In addition to this, the fair deal scheme is, ironically, the most unfair scheme that has existed in this health service. People who have worked tirelessly all of their lives, simply put, are being robbed of all they have through this system. People all over west Cork with loved ones in community hospitals and nursing homes are contemplating selling their homes, or else taking their loved ones home to die, due to the exorbitant costs they face in this scheme.

Bus loads will leave west Cork over the coming weeks to avail of cataract operations in the North. This is a simple failure towards the elderly people of this island, those people who, as I stated, worked hard and paid their taxes. This country would rather let them go blind than resolve a crisis that affects 8,000 elderly people. The very simple solution would be to open up surgical theatres throughout the country, such as that in Bantry General Hospital, and get the procedures carried out in a timely manner.

Ireland has an ageing population, and 30% of the population will be aged over 65 by 2030. This raises significant challenges and opportunities for Irish society and, in particular, for the Irish health service, as it is in crisis now and it looks to be worsening. I cannot imagine how it might be in ten years if we do not begin to change this.

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