Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for the spirit in which he dealt with our little complaints. I appreciate his good humour and willingness to respond.

Like my colleagues, I do not regard the Bill as a momentous event. We have not yet started to embrace the gradual change to an ageing society, which is not as dramatic as scaremongers would have us believe. There is a resistance to the idea of universalism in the provision of support for the elderly. The story described by Senator Henry is hair-raising and distressing and must be addressed.

I have a simple belief, namely, all ways of doing something should be rational. It is irrational for the Bill to distinguish between house prices in what is called the Dublin area and elsewhere in the country. A gradual banded spread of 20 km to 50 km in radius might be rational, but basing this provision on the Dublin area and north County Wicklow, which is probably more expensive than parts of County Dublin, is irrational and makes for arbitrariness on the part of decision-makers. The HSE is so big and unresponsive that to allow arbitrariness to creep in is a mistake.

Nevertheless, it is better to have something rather than nothing written down. It is a step forward and a recognition of a work in progress. The Minister of State informed the House that there will be further legislation, which will be the case irrespective of who is in power, but if there is a change in Government, that legislation will be different than what is currently intended.