Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Duncan Smith for tabling the motion, which has been lauded across the House as timely. It has even been termed "fantastic". It is a very important motion. As the Minister of State will be aware, the Labour Party only gets this time to raise an issue every six weeks so we always pick something that is close to our hearts. In this respect, it is doubly disappointing that the senior Minister is not here to listen to the debate and that the Government has decided not to accept the motion or effectively put it to a vote because there have been any number of motions or recent legislation that Government has seen fit to allow pass through. However, the Government has tabled an amendment to our motion, which we find very disappointing because this motion has been put forward in good faith.

Dealing with elderly parents and finding support for them constitute the biggest heartbreak in any family. It is something most families go through. The fact that 6,000 families have to sit on the waiting list is a disgrace. Regarding the presentation of health figures in the budget, we considered that we went through a fraudulent process. The Minister for Health stood over figures he could not stand over a number of days later and the CEO of the HSE told us he could not work within the figures provided. The Minister of State said she was disappointed by the provision for mental health services. We now have a scenario where we cannot provide effectively for citizens at the end of their lives.

What is most disappointing is the narrative from the Government at budget time, particularly from Fine Gael, is about tax cuts. Four junior Ministers clubbed together to write an op-ed for the Irish Independentand did not talk about care, justice, the provision of the State for those who need it most and end-of-life care. They wrote about selfishness. They wrote an article for the Irish Independentthat really tried to touch the nerve of the selfish instinct within Irish people. What we are trying to do here is the opposite. We are trying to ask collectively what we can do for those at the end of their lives. Home care is it and we are failing spectacularly. What the Government is effectively doing is overseeing the privatisation of a service. This country needs much better than that for those at the end of their lives who need this human contact and care.

We are also dealing with people who generally cannot stand up for themselves. They are at a stage in their lives when they do not feel they have access to that sort of platform to speak to their experiences and sometimes the Department depends on that. I am glad that today at least we have given voice to these figures and I again express my disappointment that the Government has not seen fit to support this motion or to allow it to go forward without opposition.

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