Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I support the points made by the two previous speakers about the type of examination which is required to ensure the correct result is obtained for the elderly person who would be the subject of the application. It is very important to ask for what this legislation provides. We must be determined that this legislation is for looking after the interests of the elderly people in a holistic fashion and who may need nursing home accommodation. The legislation should not be about making the State feel good about the fact it is providing in some fashion a clean bed in a clean nursing home. It should not be about simply reassuring families that their loved one is looked after; it must be about what is best for the elderly person who may be placed in a residential nursing home. As part of the assessment of that person's application and more important as part of the decision as to whether a nursing home solution is either the best or the only option, we must consider all the aspects, not simply the financial aspect, not from the perspective of whether a family member is available to care for them in their own home or community, not whether neighbours or friends can help out; it must be a case of considering what is the best for the person concerned. This is the reason it is so important that all strands of examination from a social worker to the physiotherapist and the GP is part of that equation.

Senator Mullen made an interesting and challenging observation as to what the person may wish for himself or herself. It may not be a clean bed in a clean nursing home and safety from robbery and vandalism. It may be a desire to spend his or her remaining years in the community. To arrive at that solution might require considerable questioning and probing. That is why it is important the examination be done by a multidisciplinary team, as is proposed.

I hope the Minister of State has, at the core of her thinking, what is right for those who are elderly today because that will be all of us tomorrow. The legislation is not about filling a gap, getting rid of the inconvenience of nursing home subventions and finding places for elderly people when there is no one to look after them. That would be a very sad philosophy on which to base legislation in the 21st century. Assessments must include the broadest possible physical, physiological and psychiatric services. The necessary teams must be in place. We must not seek easy answers but look at the question from all angles. I ask the Minister of State to consider these amendments. The Bill must not present the neat and easy solution of Shady Pines. We must be broad in our thinking and aspirations.