Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome this legislation. It is extremely complex legislation in the sense that it contains 44 sections and I note it proposes to amend a total of 19 different Acts. I pay tribute to the Minister of State, to the Department of Health and to those involved in drafting this legislation because it was not an easy Bill to draft. It is important that Members give recognition to the work that has been done. This welcome legislation provides that the Opticians Board, which was set up under the Opticians Act 1956, be subsumed into the Health and Social Care Professionals Council. The legislation in question is more than 50 years old and obviously has served its time. This Bill brings matters forward into the current state of play with regard to health care in Ireland and that is welcome. The Minister of State mentioned how 12 different professions will be brought under a single umbrella and that is welcome. It is necessary and is about co-ordination of the health care sector and I certainly believe this legislation does that.
In response to my colleague across the floor who raised the issue about Part 3, I attended a conference yesterday at which a presentation was given by Professor Mary McCarron on some interesting research on people with disabilities, both intellectual and physical, and about the fact that they now are living a lot longer. This is the first study ever done of the ageing process with regard to that group of people. My understanding is that a lot of information has been made available on the website, idstilda.tcd.ie. It is well worth people's time to look at this welcome research because it examines the difficulties that exist, while also considering how this can be managed into the future.
I have suggested to the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children that Professor McCarron be invited to give a presentation to that committee because there is a lot of useful information to be gained. This goes back to the issue about Part 3. Previously, when people went into care, it was a structure that was permanent for seven days a week and for 52 weeks a year. We have moved on from that structure and it is important to realise that the cost of care continues to increase because the level of care being provided has continued to improve. It is important that a balance is reached both in respect of how that care is provided and about the sharing of the cost. I believe Part 3 of the Bill certainly deals with that issue where a contribution also is made by the recipient. Therefore, I certainly have no objection to the provisions in the Bill as set out.
It is important to note the Bill also provides for other areas. I refer to the level of specialties covered by the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, of which there are 12, which include clinical biochemists, dieticians, physiotherapists, radiographers, social care workers and social workers. There are other areas for which there is a need for regulation. For instance, there will be growing demand for and an expansion of home care and the question is whether Members should seek the registration of that sector. The Law Reform Commission published a detailed report in 2011 on that issue and Members should begin to consider it now because in the case of the aforementioned 12 services under discussion here, it is important to have proper regulation and scrutiny of the service being provided.
Similarly, in the case of home care, it also will be important to make sure that what is being offered reaches the required standard. This is a subject that Members should consider in the long term. I am unsure whether it will be possible to do that during the lifetime of the present Government but it certainly should be undertaken in the not-too-distant future. The population is ageing as people are living longer. I believe that at present, there are 585,000 people who are over 65 but within 17 years, that figure will reach 990,000, which is a huge increase. Therefore, there also will be an increase in demand for services. I refer to one thing from which we must move away and on which the Minister of State has a strong view. It is about making sure that people can be kept at home for the longest time possible. This is the reason Members must ensure there is proper regulation with regard to all the services that are then available.
I welcome this Bill and it is important to proceed with it. Thereafter, it will be important to take the various steps that must be taken to bring each of the 12 professions under proper structures. The Minister of State has set out the targets in this regard, which will be reached without too much difficulty. However, it is important that the legislative structure is in place and this Bill certainly accommodates all these requirements.