Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

Last night on the RTE programmes "Prime Time" and "The Frontline" we saw evidence of the abject failure of the Government in delivering services to persons caring for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia. There has been a failure in delivering services to good people who are doing their very best in their homes to look after loved ones. It was clear that the State had in no way matched or supported to any degree the many people caring for loved ones. This raises enormous questions about the role and accountability of Ministers. The Minister indicated there had been no cuts to front-line services, yet there was example after example of cutbacks affecting carers. We had a discussion on the length of time it took to give an elderly person a shower or help him or her to get out of bed. That is the level the cutbacks have reached, which raises the most serious questions about the delivery of front-line services, particularly in the context of €3 billion in savings sought. Will these vulnerable people in the community be hit again? I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that the Minister of State with responsibility for older people come to the House to discuss the issue today and, in particular, to outline how she intends to address the many issues raised in last night's programmes. It was extremely upsetting to watch people caring for their mothers and other family members without any support during the day. Many have seen the number of hours cut in the past few weeks. We need to hear what Government policy is and who is responsible for the implementation of the cuts. Is the Minister accepting any responsibility for this cutback? How is she responding to the cases raised last night? It is extremely important that we have a discussion today.

Speaking of ministerial responsibility, we have reached a ridiculous position where the Minister of State with responsibility for children is now getting legal advice on the legal advice received by an agency within his remit. That agency, the HSE, is not giving information to the Government appointed body on the children who died while in care. We are being told that up to 200 children died while in care and that there is no proper system in place for the reporting of deaths and no overall national approach to the issue. This is absolutely disgraceful and raises questions about Ministers, what they are doing and the information they are receiving from the bodies for which they are accountable. We need to have a further discussion on the issue.