Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I hope the people running those home care packages will never be in a similar position or find themselves where the elderly people last night were seen to be. It was an absolute disgrace and we should not entertain excuses from anybody in those home care companies. There were no licences or regulation and it is an absolute disgrace. I hate to think I would endorse any body of people looking after the elderly in the fashion portrayed in that programme last night.

I ask the Leader to bring the Minister to the House. I know her heart is in the right place and she wants to ensure there is appropriate regulation and that the local and regional HSE personnel will provide supervision. An overhaul must be carried out quickly. How many older people are in their own homes at this point, with perhaps no trust between them and the people who come in to look after them? Trust is the key word, as older people must feel they can trust the people who come in to look after them.

I support Senator Bacik's comments on the OECD report and we should have that debate. I have asked for it already and it is a very serious matter. Education is the way forward and the key to our future. That debate must take place. I know the Leader is running short of time but perhaps we could fit in an hour or two. If he cannot do so we should have the debate early in the new year.