Mary Henry (Independent)

The Minister has a great commitment to her portfolio and she is right to have concentrated on the elderly in the Bill's budgetary provisions. I take this view since I am getting older myself and a girl must think of the future. I regret, however, that some of the promises made in the run up to the general election have not been fulfilled. For example, the child benefit increases are not great and when one takes inflation into account they will virtually be wiped out.

From a professional viewpoint, I naturally regret the failure to extend the provision of free medical cards, particularly to children. We have one of the highest rates of asthma in Europe, if not the world. It is most important that children receive the proper treatment and care they deserve, before we have to establish centres to deal with chronic illness in adults. The medical card decision will badly hit many families because people will have to pay a significant increase before they get free drugs for long-term illness.

Yesterday, Senator Phelan raised the issue of middle-aged or elderly bachelors who find it difficult to obtain accommodation. This is a neglected group of people and when we discuss family matters we tend to forget that they were part of a family at one stage.