Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very grateful to be in the Chamber this morning to speak on this very important motion and I acknowledge Deputy Noel Grealish and Maria in his constituency office and her team who did all the heavy lifting to put this together.

To start, I want to double on what the Minister of State said about demographics. People talk about this demographic bulge as though it is a time bomb. I think it is a good thing to. It means that about 40 years ago there was a baby boom, because people had great confidence in the future of this country. There are also the high life expectancy rates at the moment, which are top-of-the-class from an EU point of view. That has not happened by chance. Our healthcare system, for all of its imperfections, is doing great work. Outcomes are improving, people are living longer with chronic diseases and we should acknowledge that from a healthcare perspective, and our wonderful doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals.

There has been a lot of talk about childcare and with good reason. It has been said that the State should provide childcare, and that is absolutely true, but to me elderly care is just as important. It is an integral part of the social contract and societal covenant and we have to make sure that elderly care is looked after as well. With regard to other recipients of home care, I would mention the disability sector. I contend that people with disabilities are even more deserving of State support than the able-bodied, because of the particular hand that the lottery of life has dealt them.

The second point I would like to raise is on what I would call the unseen health service, which is so important. We are all familiar with the seen health service.

We have hospitals and lovely primary care centres now, which I welcome. We also have ambulances flying around with blue lights but the unseen health service is just as important, if not more so. That is what goes on in people's homes every single day of the week, and that is why carers are so important. The unseen health service takes huge pressure off the actual health service, at both ends, as Deputy Shanahan has mentioned. It reduces the risk of unnecessary admissions to accident and emergency units but it also facilitates the other end as well, in that it reduces the risk and the likelihood of delayed discharges, because there is a step-down option thereafter. Therefore, it is really important.

I think most people here would agree that the most efficient healthcare bed in this country is the patient's own bedroom, and the most efficient healthcare worker is the one who facilitates the patient to stay in his or her own bedroom. That is really important. Even the most heartless and cruellest bean counter accountant can see the economic benefit and advantage of that. That is before we include the autonomy, independence and dignity of the patient as well.

This is my last point. We have 14 recommendations and I endorse every single one of them, but I will focus on three in particular. The Minister of State rightly mentioned the remuneration package. I thank her for sharing the information on the €28.50 per hour rate. I was not aware of that figure and I think it is intriguing. There is a lot of work we can do there.

The obvious question is whether there is any caveat or conditionality associated with that money before it is handed over. That money is really needed on the front line. It is needed in the bearna bhaoil. I do not want to be pejorative. We do not engage in that kind of emotive language but we do not want it siphoned off by various layers of management. We do not want the CEO of a company to get a brand new company car. We need the money to be spent where it is needed most. That is what the taxpayer wants as well. We could do a bit of work on that, because it will not cost the taxpayer any more money, but we would make sure that the cash gets where it is needed most.

The second point relates to permits for non-EU staff. I presume the Minister of State will agree that there is a wonderful community out there. I know most of my colleagues certainly will. I refer to the Filipino community. They are running our health service. They are in every ward and in every nursing home. They are also disproportionately positively represented among carers. They remind me a lot of Irish immigrants in the past. We went to the US and Australia and we sent remittances home, which is precisely what the Filipino community is doing as well. Not only are they caring for Irish people; they are caring for their own people back in their country of origin as well. I want to put that on the record.

My final point is on carer burnout, which is a huge issue. The Dáil is going into recess next month and while it is not an analogous comparison, there is no recess for carers. We can call it what we like, but it is a 24-7 or a 25-8 situation and they need to get respite. I would be very grateful if the Minister of State could look at increasing the number of facilities providing two weeks or three weeks a year that are so crucially important, both for the patient and for the carer at home.

In summary, before I hand over to Deputy Naughten, I will wrap up by saying that I am grateful for the opportunity to speak. I thank the Minister of State for accepting this motion. The one takeaway for me is the €28.50. We need to get that money where it is needed most; on the front line.

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