Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

In the run-up to the budget we have heard a lot about how we protect the elderly and the services the country provides for them. That is critical and it acquires a particular significance given the shortage of resources. It is not just about making decisions at election time; it also concerns how the State reacts in providing services for the elderly on an ongoing basis. They lead letter in The Irish Times today is from Professor Desmond O'Neill who works with the elderly and chaired the Government's working group on the report, Protecting Our Future. He makes a point relevant to the financial crisis. During the period in which he chaired the group he repeatedly asked financial institutions and the Department of Finance to provide a member of staff to be part of the group, but the Government continually refused. He says the country has failed to stay on top of the financial abuse of older people by financial institutions. He is extraordinarily disappointed and the group disbanded not having received a proper response from the financial institutions to a topic of major national and international significance. The financial abuse of elderly people by financial institutions is a major issue.

It is extremely disappointing that the report of the Ombudsman makes the same point about how the elderly have been treated by the State. I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business, that the Minister would come to the House to discuss the report, because it raises very important issues about the role of the Ombudsman who says no Ombudsman has ever been treated the way she has been treated by the Department of Health and Children and the Minister. Those who saw the "Prime Time" programme last night will have seen what she had to say about the matter. If one goes through the summary of the report, it is an indictment of Government policy and the way her role has been dealt with. It raises the most serious issues.

That is not to say we are not in a crisis in terms of funding services for the elderly; we are. It is an indictment of Government if it cannot tolerate an independent person examining the situation, reporting it and raising questions. We have reached quite an extraordinary situation in terms of independent reports and the attitude of the Government to them. I want the Minister to come to the House today in order that we can have a discussion on the report and the wider issues it raises about nursing home care for the elderly. More than 1,000 complaints were received, albeit over a 25-year period. The report raises the most serious issues about how we approach residential care for the elderly in this country, the kind of decisions that have been taken and the inequities that were built into those decisions.