Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State is aware, care work, whether provided by a loved one or a public or private service, is labour intensive, both physically and mentally. Carers, like everyone, need and deserve respite from time to time. It is critical. Anything that is perceived as a stalling of the provision of additional home help hours will have a considerably detrimental effect on carers. It is inextricably linked with them. Is the Minister of State aware that there is a report on the physical, mental and psychological impact of caring which was prepared by Family Carers Ireland, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems? It states one in every three carers in Ireland is now suffering from depression. Two in every three family carers provide more than 100 hours of care each week. Respite care services are not available to 70% of the nation's carers. The proportion was 43% in 2009. Is there a need, therefore, to provide a statutory entitlement to publicly funded home care, rather than making provision on an arbitrary or ad hocbasis, or on a postcode lottery basis, which has resulted in unfair regional imbalances in provision?

If we deal with the situation with a statutory framework, it underpins the provision of same and takes it out of the discretionary allocation. What is the Minister of State's view on that?

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