Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I tried to raise this issue earlier because we were going round in circles and having a good discussion on what all in this Chamber believe in, namely, the holistic care of people. Then we read the Bill and find that the HSE, the Department of Finance and the Government are completely reneging on their responsibilities to look after the elderly. The Bill states: "Where a care needs assessment is carried out, this shall not be [there is no ambiguity here] construed as meaning that the Executive will provide or will arrange for the provision of any service". What is the point of us discussing any of this if the Department has the right to do this? It is outrageous.