Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I listened to what the Minister of State had to say. She listed what she has done and provided but she must admit that what is happening at the moment is not working. We all know it is not working. We know that because the families are telling us it is not working. The families are telling us they are terrified about what will become of the nursing homes in which their loved ones live.

Urgent action is needed to halt potential closures and drastically expand the capacity. Since 2020, 34 nursing homes have closed and that has resulted in losses of so many beds. We can all imagine the worry, the stress, the anxiety for the residents of homes and, of course, of their families.

I will recount one of the stories I have heard and it is of the Garvey family and the concerns they have for their mother, Maureen. She has been a resident in Beaumont Residential Care nursing home. She is 90 years of age and has late stage dementia. She cannot speak for herself. She needs help with feeding, dressing and going to the toilet and her family are at their wit’s end with this. They are terrified that her nursing home could close and that they will not be able to find an alternative. It is not only the families who are raising these concerns but it is also the people who are running them and working in those homes. I have spoken to providers who just do not believe that they will even be able to see the end of this year. That would have a knock-on impact in respect of beds and jobs. I am very concerned about those more rural areas also and the knock-on effect that would have and whether nursing homes will be reopened in those areas. I completely understand the concern of families and of people who work in those facilities and who provide that care.

We know that we have an ageing population and that we need to consider longer-term capacity. We are waltzing into a disaster zone on this issue.

I think of our young people who are being forced to emigrate because this Government will not put a roof over their heads but it also cannot do that with our elderly population.

See this speech in context