Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for bearing with me. Bhí mé ag dul chuig an leithreas nuair a ghlaoigh tú mé.

I know the Minister of State has done a lot of work on this legislation. Many people have worked on these matters over the past decade, especially Ms Maura Canning. I cannot say enough of her. She has done Trojan work on behalf of farm families in the Irish Farmers' Association.

There are considerable difficulties with this legislation, which was promised during every session for the past two years. We kept being told it would come in the next session or before Christmas or before the summer. Now that it has finally arrived, I am worried that the Minister of State has told us the Government will introduce a number of statutory instruments that are not dealt with in the Bill. The devil is in the detail, as we all know. There must be fairness. This will affect not only family farmers but also self-employed business people who own shops, hardware stores or whatever. It will affect many areas. Those people must work hard and their asset is their tool. That asset is their ability to earn a living. It is not a guaranteed income, it is just their means of earning a living. The kids put a sticker on my wife's car some time ago that stated, "Be nice to your kids because they choose your nursing home." It is a strange one.

This legislation is making the process complicated. Men and women are both bread-earners and can be pivotal in the businesses about which I am talking, including family farms and family businesses. Their assets will be stripped away and they will be left without an asset to make money. There are complications relating to the second partner and young adult children. Are they going to wait around for six years? There are many issues to be teased out.

I know that almost no legislation applies retrospectively. Perhaps there should be an exception, however, in the case of difficult human stories involving family members who have been in nursing homes for a long number of years, where huge bills have accrued and there is no hope of paying them. The affected family members may have been depending on this Bill to do something. I am glad the legislation is being rushed through but there has not been enough time for debate. I wish we knew what the statutory instruments are going to be or what orders the Minister is going to make after the Bill is passed.

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