John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The new social welfare forms designed by the Department are showing a clear bias towards banks over post offices and should be scrapped. Our views have been made quite clear to the Minister for Social Protection.

Senator O'Brien's recommendation that transition year students get CPR training is a brilliant idea. I ask the Leader that we make representations to the Minister for Education and Skills on this issue. It is very logical and has not even been thrown into the mix.

I agree with Senator Leyden on his proposed amendment to the Order of Business. It is ludicrous that the HSE can now allow patients who have been in what they call a family home for 20 years to be discommoded. It is wrong. When these facilities were set up back in the 1980s, the document by which the HSE was guided was called Planning for the Future. When patients were not suitable for day care centres and hostels, they were put into these facilities. It is amazing that, 20-odd years on, there is a new document called A Vision for Change which states that what happened under Planning for the Future was wrong. I have asked the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, if patients who are to be taken out of those facilities and put into private nursing homes can now sue the HSE for wrongful placement. I think that is the way to go. The HSE needs to be questioned on some of its decisions. If this goes ahead, it will be nothing short of eviction of the patients.