Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am looking for a debate on the issue, particularly about the need for those involved in care for the elderly - the nursing homes organisations, HIQA, the HSE, the NTPF, the patient organisations and those involved in home packages - to sit down around the table and plan for elder care in the future. We are not doing that; we approaching this in a hit and miss fashion when we must start planning for the long term. The number of people going into elder care is growing all the time and we must have a strategy for that. I met with people from nursing homes this morning and they told me they have never had the chance to sit down with all the other parties to deal with long-term planning. There is a need for that and I ask the Leader to allow a debate on the matter and to invite the Department of Health, the HSE and all other involved parties to sit down around the table as soon as possible.