Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I very much endorse much of what the previous speaker has said. I thank the Regional Group for tabling the motion and giving us the opportunity to discuss this very important issue.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's bona fides on this issue in that she has very much sought to introduce reforms. I look forward to hearing in her closing remarks how those reforms are advancing, because the reality, notwithstanding the Minister of State's efforts, which I acknowledge, is that difficulties remain. Deputy Connolly pointed out that the difficulty before now was getting people assessed. Now it is quite easy to get people assessed. I know many families across Clare who have been assessed and told they are entitled to hours, but there is simply nobody available to offer them. That raises many questions. Obviously, we have full employment, which is part of the issue, but the fact that a fundamental service for a person, family and community is regarded as unattractive or that other fields of employment are regarded as more attractive raises questions. We must acknowledge that most people look for care early in the morning and late in the evening and that this poses difficulties in terms of the attractiveness of employment because many carers deal with their own families, including children, parents and dependent relatives, at these times. People like to work an eight-hour shift. It makes it difficult to provide a service on two occasions per day, 12 hours apart, if people are being sought to do eight-hour shifts.

As Deputy Connolly and other speakers have pointed out, there are issues with the margins being taken by some of the service providers, including not only the for-profit ones but also the not-for-profit ones. The latter also take a fairly handsome margin, and that needs to be looked into. Admittedly, there are administrative and insurance costs and the care has to be provided, but we must ensure the carers providing the service are paid an amount of money commensurate with the great service they provide.

We must examine what occurs if somebody goes to hospital or does not require care for a week or two, meaning that the person's carer is not paid for that period. What is happening in that regard? What is the position on payment for travelling time? Cities are one thing but in rural areas such as Clare or the area the Minister of State represents, carers inevitably spend much time travelling. For the job to be in any way attractive, carers need to be paid for their travel time, and also for fuel because they are driving around in their own cars.

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