Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Marie Moloney for raising this issue and the Leader for allowing a debate on it. It is an important issue that has to be dealt with. As many in receipt of the allowance are concerned, it is important that its future be clarified at an early date.

There seems to be a tendency in some Departments to hope that when certain issues are raised, they will go away. I have referred on several occasions to the way the Department of Health dealt with the nursing home charges for over 25 years before the issue suddenly came to a head. The same seems to have happened in the case of this allowance. We need to have more openness in Departments when such issues are raised to ensure they are reviewed quickly, rather than being put on the backburner. The Ombudsman stepped in on the issue of payment of this allowance when previously people would have had to go to the courts to establish their entitlements. Nowadays, they have access to information at an earlier stage. Departments need to respond to such issues at an earlier date.

We need to examine how other EU member states deal with this type of allowance. I have just attended a conference on ICT tools in health care and how far behind Ireland is when compared to Denmark and other EU member states. The use of ICT tools also makes health services in these member states more efficient, too. Ireland needs to respond to this change.

We must also ensure those in receipt of this benefit will not be disadvantaged by changes to it. My problem is that a decision was taken on it and that it seems to be written in stone, whereas I believe there should be far more consultation during the review. The Oireachtas committee on health should review the allowance and the circumstances surrounding it.

This is an important issue which we must review and on which we must make a decision. However, the decision should not be made until all those involved and those in receipt of the allowance have been consulted. This is the opening debate on the matter and it should not be the last. The issue should be raised in the House again, once we have some idea from the Department and Ministers of how they propose to deal with it.

I again thank Senator Marie Moloney for raising this matter and the Leader for allowing time to debate it. Once the review group makes it report, its decision cannot be written in stone.