Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I was referring to her recent election to the Seanad.

I understand Senators Feeney and Feighan began with a quote. I think it was Kofi Annan who said about two years ago, "We will all be old some day, with a bit of luck." The elderly are a particular category to whom we owe a massive debt of gratitude for what they have done for us and for the way in which they have contributed to what we know now as a civilised society, one that obviously needs improvements in many areas. We would not have what we have today without them. They established many years ago the standards, fundamentals and principles of our health care and educational systems. It is particularly important that we, as legislators and public representatives, should not forget them.

The population trends show that the number of older people in our society is increasing rapidly for which there are a number of supporting demographic figures. European figures show that by 2050 over half the population of Europe will be above retirement age. The Central Statistics Office estimates that by 2031 over 200,000 Irish people will be over the age of 80 years. All of these figures point to the need for immediate planning, not just for the present cohort of the elderly population but for future levels. This requires good planning and a long vision for which we can hope to prepare by putting in place systems that will be of assistance to elderly people in catering for their needs.

There are a number of other issues to which we have to face up, apart from the ageing population. First, there is the fact that people are living much longer and, second, the number of full-time family carers is diminishing. The costs of long-term care are escalating at a rate which is alarming to say the least. It is also essential to bear in mind that serious staff shortages in the health service have a detrimental effect on the health of elderly people, in particular. When we mention waiting lists, for example, we tend to think of ourselves but we should not forget that these failings impact most seriously on our elderly population.

I did some minor research, because this is not my area, and found some interesting articles and statistics in an insightful publication, Ageing Matters, published by Age Action Ireland. One of the more alarming findings came from a SIPTU nursing conference held recently in Limerick. It related to the Society of St. Vincent Paul paying for private medical care for a person in south Dublin. This person would have had to wait a long time for a public bed, but the local branch of St. Vincent de Paul came to the rescue and paid for this elderly person's private treatment.