Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have just one final question for the Minister. He articulates his case very well but for me the case still does not stack up that "shall strive" is much more robust than "shall" and is better than "shall endeavour". It is probably better than "shall endeavour" but the word "shall" is the one we want to see included.

I also question the opportunity that we have had to include care outside the family, as well as inside the family. This is really important because on a daily basis this State lets people down in terms of its care, but that is not done within the family, it is done outside the family. We have family carers who have minded their parents all their lives. I use the example of Cherry Orchard Hospital where people are being forcibly moved from the wards and are being put into private nursing homes. The families are very opposed to it. Many of these families would have been family carers all their lives and now they are having to go to the hospital to prevent their loved ones being forcibly moved into private accommodation where they know they are not going to last. They understand how much older people than me, although I am getting there, respond to a change in circumstances and environment. They know they are not going to last long. When change happens abruptly, it can be very damaging to their longevity or their possibility of existing for much longer on this earth.

Families outside of the home when dealing with the State are still left to pick up the mess that is being made. The example of Cherry Orchard Hospital is a case in point in that regard. I just want to ask the Minister if he has considered all of these angles of State care when he thought about whether this should be just about care within the family, and State care being outside the home but being very much linked to how the family has to cope with the lack of proper care by the State itself.

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