Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The pandemic has had a detrimental effect on our economy and, more importantly, on our society. I spoke to a lady who brought her elderly father to an accident and emergency department last weekend. After waiting in a chair for eight hours wearing a mask, he was seen after midnight, was kept in and is still in hospital. He has not had any visitors, he has received bad news and his family has not been allowed in to see him. I ask Deputies to imagine getting a cancer diagnosis and having no family member to provide comfort. Everyone is distraught and it is inhumane.

I have consistently said in this House that we need to find a balance between mental and physical health. I have met with many groups that advocate for older people over the last few weeks and they are saying the same thing: we need to consider the mental health of our older people. Sadly, I am aware of an elderly person who committed suicide recently. We are at the end of it when it comes to that. I also know several older people who have been saved because of the intervention of groups like Older Voices Kildare and HOPE(D) in Newbridge. On many occasions, I have raised HOPE(D) on this floor. This organisation does the very best it can. The HSE sends clients to HOPE(D) and yet it gets no funding. I feel this needs to be looked at and I ask the Minister to do something about it.

Everyone knows this virus has affected our older people disproportionately but the effect on their mental health is less widely known. Loneliness is a killer. People who feel lonely are 64% more likely to develop dementia than those with an active social life. I thank those who care for our older people. We need to ensure our carers get what they deserve and they need to get it without having to jump through hoops. The form for the carer's allowance is 40 pages long and it is an onerous task to complete it. We need to ensure those in the caring profession, as a minimum, receive a living wage. Finally, I implore the Government to do the right thing and pay student nurses and midwives and offer no more excuses.

See this speech in context