David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the Order of Business last Thursday I called for a debate on health care. When responding, the Leader in a very flippant way stated the Minister would be in the House all this week. He is correct in that regard, but the Minister will be present to discuss a very important and sensitive Bill in respect of which it would inappropriate for Senators to raise any issue relating to the health service. The Leader was quite aware of that for which I was calling, namely, a debate on the health service and the cutbacks being made in it. In the interim, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has confirmed that the Government is to introduce means testing and charges for home-care packages and other community-based services. The latter will have an impact on older people and those with disabilities. The Government is now saying it will provide more money for people with disabilities if the Seanad is abolished. However, it has actually cut back on the funding and services for these individuals. Time and again it has targeted older people and those with disabilities. Not only is it failing to reform the health service, it is actually dismantling it.

The Government has referred a great deal to wanting to move from institutional care to community care. However, all we have seen are cuts to home help hours and home-care packages. This makes it more difficult for people to be cared for at home. The Government's stated policy in this area does not match what it is doing. I must, therefore, again request a debate on this matter. When it published its so-called reform policy, Future Health: A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Service 2012-2015, last year, Sinn Féin pointed out that it would lead to cutbacks in home-care services. That is exactly what is going to happen, which is shameful. I reiterate my call for a debate on the health service, specifically in the context of community health care.