Mary Henry (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I will not take up too much of his time by praising him for all the great things he did because many Senators have heaped praise on him.

I was pleased to see the improvements in payments and conditions for foster care. There is a serious shortage of foster parents and it is extremely important that we make it appear sufficiently attractive for people to take in children who for various reasons need the care of the State. It is preferable that they be cared for within a family situation than in an institution or, as has regrettably happened too often, within an acute paediatric hospital, which is a terrible waste of resources.

There are other items I wish had been included in the Bill, some of which my medical colleagues thought were promised. One is tax relief on improvements to primary health care facilities. Many general practitioners have run practices on their own for years but the Department of Health and Children encourages group practice, bringing in extra paramedical staff, upgrading practices with practice nurses, counsellors, psychologists and so forth. This entails upgrading premises.

Many general practitioners thought this Bill would cover these improvements but it does not do so. This will lead to private companies setting up institutes which they hire out to primary health care practitioners which is a bad way to proceed. The Irish Medical Organisation has encouraged doctors to set up their own companies and co-operate with their colleagues. I hope the Minister of State will do something about this situation as soon as possible.

The other serious issue is that the Bill does not extend the tax relief on the establishment of private hospitals to those which cater for the mentally ill. There are many mentally ill people for whom it is necessary to cater but for whom there is a shortage of beds. Some people running institutions for people with a mental illness have tried to upgrade them and put them on greenfield sites but they cannot avail of tax relief. This is a pity because we must face the fact that people with a mental illness need as much care as those with a physical illness. As the age profile increases, the number of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease will increase.

Senator White realises that child care is an important electoral issue. When will the Department of Finance realise this? For years, ever since I discovered it, I have cited the policy in France whereby one can get vouchers to the value of between €5,000 and €7,000 to employ people within the home. One buys the vouchers tax free and uses them to pay people who work in the home, for example, people providing child care, elder care, a gardener for one's garden, even for piano lessons or maths grinds for children. This brings many people in the black economy into the white or grey economy, which yields a tax benefit.

I hope this receives serious consideration when the issue of child care is addressed because it seems to have worked well in France for years and could be a method for making tax credits available here.