Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is often the case that the elderly and people with a disability feel they have been forgotten about. Many fear they will have to move out of their home because they cannot continue to live independently due to a lack of support. Many carers I have spoken to have told me they go into a client's home on their days off to assist them. That is scandalous. If not for the compassion shown by those carers, their clients would not cope. Simple tasks like cooking meals, taking medication and turning on the heat would not happen.

In my constituency of Meath West, many families have made contact to say that the provision approved for them by the HSE and the hours of care they actually receive are worlds apart due to a lack of carers to meet the need. Services in Meath are chronically under-resourced and families suffer as a result. It is unacceptable that the huge disruption caused by the lack of occupational therapists in Meath is allowed to continue. The system should be able to cope with vacancies as they arise, with temporary staffing solutions in place to cover absences. We need forward thinking and planning to create a workforce that meets the needs of our growing population.

We need to see a huge increase in respite hours. Families value their respite. Not providing adequate provision in this regard is a failure on the part of the State. The Government could do so much more. No one is happy about the lack of progress. Least happy are those people, and their carers, who are seeking to use these services. We are all too used to people being left behind by the State. It is time the Government caught up and delivered proper care and support for these people.

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