Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuil cearta ag daoine atá faoi chúram cosanta go láidir i gcónaí.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Munster, for her work on this legislation. If the Government accepts this Bill, and I hope it does, it will offer serious relief to patients in private nursing homes and their families. Many are already paying large amounts in fees. The services and procedures specified in this Bill can mean that the monthly bill is increased greatly and with little predictability. They are all procedures associated with the provisions of the medical card scheme and therefore should not have to be factored into the planning of care.

This Bill also seeks to tackle the very obvious question that arises out of the current situation, namely, how is this allowed to happen? It establishes a clear line of responsibility and commensurate punishments for the breach of existing regulations. This may not appear to be of equal importance to issues such as the review of the fair deal scheme or the efforts to have home care provided on a statutory basis. It is, however, a matter of making rights real. Rights contained in existing primary and secondary legislation that are rendered inert by a lack of regulatory bodies to enforce them are effectively rights denied.

This Bill will identify and empower those entrusted with ensuring these rights are real and exist for patients of nursing homes. We remain committed, in the words of the Democratic Programme of the First Dáil Éireann, to the care and support of Ireland's aging population, "who shall not be regarded as a burden, but rather entitled to the Nation's gratitude and consideration". I commend the Bill to the House.

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