Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I call for an urgent debate on care options for older people following the report in today's edition of The Irish Times that a consultant recommends that families be charged the full cost of caring for their elderly relatives in acute hospital beds in circumstances where those families have blocked their discharge from hospital. The reality is that families often cannot afford to pay for the cost of residential home care. Most people do not want to enter residential home care.

I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to spell out the correct care options that should exist for older people. Most people, only 5%, end up in residential home care. Some €1 billion is spent every year on care for the elderly. Although this is anti-ageism week, Ireland is lax in its care of older people. Most people wish to remain at home when they get sick and do not wish to enter residential care. We have poor back-up home care in this country, despite the €1 billion spent on investment in residential home care by private entrepreneurs.