Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to raise the issue of home help hours. It is a very appropriate topic to discuss because it reflects how we treat our old people and the dignity and support they receive from the State. It is all linked to the issue of allowing elderly people live in dignity in their own homes versus the option of going to a nursing home. It is a no-brainer for the State to support home help hours. With the cutbacks in home help hours, some elderly people are forced into nursing homes, the cost of which, depending on whether they are public or private, can vary from €550 a week to €1,500 a week, with private homes generally being cheaper than public nursing homes. No old person should be forced into a nursing home. It should be a choice-based issue and so should home help support. In my county, drastic cutbacks have been made to home help hours in recent years. This is simply wrong because it is excellent value for money. Home help workers provide excellent care to the elderly and they should be supported by the State. The service should not be privatised. I am a great believer in having home help hours carried out by neighbours and friends of individuals.

Another anomaly is the issue of the carer's allowance package and the absolutely disgraceful treatment of carers, people with disabilities and our elderly by the Department of Social Protection. I raised this issue a number of weeks ago and the Leader threw it back and stated I should use my contacts in the Department. There has been a policy change in the Department and it is like a whispering campaign. Officials in the Department are told to approve only a small number of applications.