Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Labour Party, excuse me. Gabh mo leithscéal. It could not be more timely, facing into the winter with the long nights, the loneliness and the isolation, especially for people with disabilities. When I see what goes on in the HSE, I saw a headline this morning that it has hired 800 managers and administration people this year already despite the ban. That is where the problem is. We cannot hire home helps. In recent times, during the past eight months, one could get a home help approved with no bother but there is no one there to do it. It is simpler just to let it off as having been approved and it is then not our problem. We are fundamentally wrong. We have too many managers and too many administrators. It is the same in the hospitals, there are not enough nurses, front-line people or domestic staff. We do not have them. The HSE has cannibalised itself on the Government's watch because the Government has been in place for a couple of years now, as have senior Ministers and several Ministers. I am not saying that this has been the start of it.

We need to, first of all, get down and emphasise, as Deputy O'Donoghue said, the work they do and the value they give to people. When people can stay in their own homes, they are happier and more comfortable and feel more secure. In most cases, they have no issues with any kind of language problems and they receive visits from neighbours and families. We need to make a seismic shift here and to have a policy that is more understanding because of the cost to the hospitals and of having to go through to Tipperary University Hospital or University Hospital Kerry, as Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said. At one time, doctors could do this through the managers in the hospital if a person needed respite or whatever, and they were not clogging up the system inside because big is not wonderful. We thought it was, with centres of excellence, but look at University Hospital Limerick and that will be dispelled straight away. We are putting too many people into those settings. Look after them at home, keep the home fires burning. I salute the home help people and carers from the bottom of my heart because for the pittance they get, they do tremendous work and bring solace and support to the elderly and vulnerable and to people with disabilities.

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