James Bannon (Fine Gael)

It is a well known fact that home helps are not getting their proper entitlements. They are the least well recognised group of carers in the community. It is unfair that they have been neglected for so long. Will the Leader invite the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to the House to explain why the Health Service Executive has failed to give home helps their entitlements under the partnership agreement? This is scandalous, particularly when one sees the waste of resources that is occurring. This waste has been ongoing for years, undetected by the Government. In the eight years this Government has been in office, it has done nothing to improve the status of people working as home helps. That warrants an immediate debate.