Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the most difficult decisions that families have to make is how to take care of their parents as they get older and it becomes clear that they can no longer take care of themselves. Difficult choices have to be made to ensure that elderly parents receive the type of care they deserve and that their adult children can no longer provide, especially in the long term. People want the best for their elderly parents and want to put them in an environment where they will thrive and enjoy a good quality of life.

Placing an elderly parent in a nursing home is often the first choice for a number of reasons. In general, nursing homes offer a secure environment with specialist 24-7 care for residents, with on-site nurses and trained care assistants. They offer elderly residents a variety of activities and entertainment to keep them active and engaged and a social community that they would not otherwise have if they remained at home. We can imagine the trauma and stress elderly people would feel if they were faced with the prospect of leaving what has become their home. This is unfortunately the reality for many elderly people as the crisis in nursing homes escalates with unprecedented numbers of private and public nursing homes closing across the country. Take the example of Maureen who is 81 years of age. She is over two years in Beaumont Residential Care in County Cork. She suffers from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. She has a husband and six children. As a result of her condition and the fact that her family was unable to deal with her worsening health, she ended up in Beaumont Residential Care. This was a very difficult decision but was made in the best interests of Maureen and her family. Closing down the centre after all that Maureen and her family have gone through is unthinkable and will have an untold effect.

The fair deal scheme has provided the opportunity for many elderly people to find a place in a nursing home who would not otherwise be able to afford this sort of care. However, there is now a funding crisis in the fair deal scheme and this has resulted in groups such as Care Choice withdrawing Beaumont Residential Care from the scheme. The current NTPF rate of support for fair deal scheme participants per resident per week at Beaumont is just not sustainable. This is causing great distress for the families of the residents who fear losing their homes as a consequence of this crisis. This needs to be looked at urgently and reforms brought in to ensure proper funding for the fair deal scheme. This crisis has to be resolved. Consideration needs to be given to the residents and the underpaid staff if we are to have a functioning, fit-for-purpose nursing home sector.

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