Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

We were all shocked by the recent “RTÉ Investigates” programme but it is important to put on record that this is not the case for the entire nursing home sector. Across the country, many nursing homes provide excellent service to our family members. We need to increase the support that we put into both public and private nursing homes.

I visit nursing homes on a regular basis in my county. A multi-million euro development is taking place on-campus at St. Joseph’s Care Centre and there is also Laurel Lodge in Longford town, Thomond Lodge in Ballymahon and The Manor in Edgeworthstown. I have been in all of these centres in recent years and in two of them with my late mother, who passed away during Covid in St. Joseph's Care Centre, where she got nothing but the best of care. That is something that we as a family will always be grateful for. She was also in The Manor. I visit my Uncle Bernie monthly in Thomond Lodge. Overall, I can say, hand on heart, that the care being provided in all the nursing homes in my county is excellent and nothing short of that.

Nonetheless, we need to strengthen the sector. We need to increase funding for the fair deal scheme and ensure the waiting list does not exceed four weeks. We need to build more public nursing home beds, as at St. Joseph’s in Longford. We need to provide a clear pathway for healthcare assistants, with better benefits. Ultimately, we need to invest in our older generation. We need to introduce the statutory homes scheme, which we have promised. We put it into the programme for Government and it is something we need to deliver on.

It is important to put on record the help and support of all those who work giving home help to elderly people throughout the country. The reality is that we do not have sufficient people to carry out that service and allow elderly people to stay in their own homes, where they are safer and more comfortable. That is why we need to address these issues. We need increased home help hours but also an increased number of staff to support those families who want to support their loved ones at home. As I said, the programme for government has been clear on the support we are going to give to persons in their elderly years and we need to deliver on that in the short term.

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