Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I thank the Minister of State for her words on this scheme and it was interesting to hear them. I did not know much about nursing homes, but my mother-in-law went into one last year. It was the last year of her life and she died last month at the age of 101 and a half years. We were counting half birthdays by that stage. While she was not involved in the fair deal scheme, I was impressed by the service and attention she received. I also got to know a number of people who were in the nursing home under the fair deal scheme. The concept was a good one.

The Minister of State has given an explanation. What has happened is shocking. The Minister of State referred to the €100 million that should have been allocated to the scheme but was instead allocated to therapies and drugs. I do not know what would be done in the health service, but if such occurred in a private enterprise, heads would roll and there would be an outcry. I am sure the Government has taken steps to solve the problem, but that it could happen at all is of concern.

I wish to speak in broader terms. I am concerned about care for older people. A new report conducted by the Saga Group, a company that markets to older people and others, highlights the vast differences in social care spending for the elderly throughout the EU. Of the 20 countries surveyed, Italy spends the most and Ireland the least. Italy and France spend more than 11% of GDP on services for seniors, which shows that those nations have some of the best policies for the aging boomer population. At the other end of the scale are the UK with 5.8%, the Netherlands with 5.3% and – guess where we come in – Ireland, last with 3.1% of GDP spent on the elderly. With so little funding to provide assistance for older adults, some experts speculate that these nations will be prone to deeper care problems in the near future. With fewer initiatives in place, seniors have a more difficult time getting help in their day-to-day lives.

This is a stark situation when one considers the findings of a new EUROSTAT survey. According to it, people aged over 65 years of age will account for 22% of Ireland's population by 2060, with those aged over 80 years representing 12%. The former is double the current figure of approximately 11%. We must take steps to take the long term into account.

A report published by the Department of Finance last April concerned me. It identified the expected explosion in the number of older citizens as a significant problem for long-term financial stability. The report claimed the situation would result in increased public expenditure. An aging population can cause problems for a country if the working population is not large enough to support the welfare of the elderly. The report read: "Projections indicate that public spending on pensions, health and long-term care will increase from 12 per cent of GDP in 2007 to 15 per cent by 2030 and to 21 per cent by 2060". The report also said that potential savings from education expenditure will contribute only a small offsetting amount and that as a result, steps taken could include increasing the population at work, cutting age-related spending and improving the country's productive capacity. How can we consider cutting age-related spending when we spend the least in Europe? The situation seems to be laying the foundations of a much larger problem.

What is the Minister of State's opinion on assisted living accommodation? Ireland does not seem to have gone in this direction, unlike the United States of America where assisted living communities are commonplace. Many people do not need to live in nursing homes and only need a little bit of help. They could live independently and the ratio of nurses to older people would be low. In the long term, we need to move from a nursing home-oriented system to one in which people either stay at home or in assisted living communities, as Senator White suggested.

Consider the raft of apartment blocks owned by the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA. Instead of nursing homes, would they not be ideal for those who, with just a little help, could live on their own? Could this not reduce the cost to the State of providing nursing care? It would appear to incur a lower cost and be more appreciated. My mother-in-law preferred to stay at home and it was not until the very end that she was not able to.

The cost of private nursing homes has increased by approximately 4% this year. If we started assisted living communities, we could contribute to the solution. I would be interested in the Minister of State's opinions on this subject. We must take the long-term approach. The fair deal concept was ideal. Although we need to make something like it work, we need to find a better solution for the long term more so.