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

We should reflect the reality of the situation. It is not a matter of what the Minister of State thinks. She committed to implementing the expert report that she herself commissioned. As the figures have been validated by Grant Thornton, there is no dispute about the costs. Why is the Minister of State not prepared to meet the costs of providing home care? Approximately 6,500 people are awaiting home care and that number has remained stubbornly high. Despite all those elements to which she has committed, it seems now that she is not prepared to follow through on ensuring they will be included in the new offer of €31. We cannot provide the services on the basis of those figures the Minister of State gave. She talked about phasing in the living wage. There is a figure for the living wage now, which will increase each year, and the Government needs to commit to doing that. This falls far short of what is required.

In respect of the commissioning model, what I hear the Minister of State saying is that she is putting the responsibility back onto the client to make the choice. The commissioning should reflect the level of need required but it is not doing that, judging by what she said. It is really disappointing that she has welched on this.

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