Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

What we are seeing is the widespread monetisation of the care of older people. Is the Minister of State going to do anything about this? Her colleagues in government have been promoting this privatised, outsourced model, for many years but when we were in the throes of Covid-19, we saw all of the difficulties that arose as a result of the large-scale nursing homes that so many of our elder people are forced to enter because of the absence of other models of care.

Even at that stage, in 2020, the then Taoiseach said we needed a new model of care. There does not seem to be much work going on in developing those new models of care. It is critical also that the HSE has to work with local authorities to provide a combination of supported and sheltered housing that provides the extra supports that are needed over time for people in the later years of their lives. The model of care that is being used at the moment is not serving the need.

We need to see the long-promised elective hospitals. We need to see them. They make absolute sense. If we have those three elective hospitals, we can make real progress through the waiting lists without those lists being impacted by the emergency departments. It is really important that this happens.

Finally, there is a dire shortage of GPs. The model for GP practices does not work in a modern context. It is fine for those who are already in it and can continue but there needs to be a second model which will provide salaries for those who want to work as GPs rather than as business people. That issue is long overdue to be tackled.

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