Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am also happy to speak on this important issue. I compliment Deputy Butler on bringing forward this motion. The protection of older persons and the prioritisation of service delivery for them are things that concerns us all. As Deputy Michael Collins said earlier, we talked about it only last week. I made these points recently in the context of my Private Members' Bill, the Vulnerable Persons Bill, which dealt specifically with the issue of elder abuse, in particular the financial abuse of older persons. Deputy Harty made some very good suggestions on that occasion. Being a practising GP in rural Ireland, he sees the issues at first hand. In terms of the more obvious policy challenges, we are aware that approximately 50,000 people are in receipt of publicly funded home care. However, there is no statutory entitlement to it. It is the luck of the draw or, as someone said, a post code lottery. As a result, there is a lack of clarity and consistency about who is eligible for services and how they are allocated. There have been clear policy statements dating back a number of years - a decade - making a commitment to move resources out of the acute healthcare sector and into community care services. The Taoiseach stands up here every day every week to talk about the €17 billion in health. A couple of years ago, it was €14 billion. The billions are going in but we are not getting the outcomes. It is all being gobbled up in administration. In 2008, the then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, stated that the whole purpose of health service reform was to take resources from the acute hospital sector and spend more resources in the community sector. That was ten years ago and as far as I can see, the situation has got worse. Where are we now? I suggest we have actually moved backwards in this regard and at quite a pace as well.

We know that 10.7% of pensioners live on an income below the poverty line. We can come in here and talk all we like and Deputy Butler and ourselves can bring Bills forward but nothing seems to change in the HSE. Nothing seems to change with the delay regarding carer's allowance. There is a listening service in south Tipperary called Good Morning South Tipperary that also covers part of Deputy Butler's constituency in west Waterford. The service cannot get a cent in funding from the HSE. This is a very valuable service. The people who engage with it love it. They spend one day per week with specially trained volunteers who do not receive a shilling.

It is the same with the lack of home help. As Deputy Harty said, it will be harder to get home help staff so we must be flexible with people on social welfare so that they can provide the hours because the personnel simply are not there. Regarding waiting times and delays relating to home care, there are a number of people in my constituency who have had strokes and are awaiting a DPG. One gentleman is at home and cannot shower. He was told this week that funding has run out. This is in mid-November. He might not be able to do anything until next March or April. This is disgraceful. Surely there should be an emergency fund kept back for people who have had an acute stroke and are in acute need of a special downstairs shower or something like that.

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