Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I looked to speak on this Bill. I very much commend Senator Burke on it. I know from first-hand experience the benefits provided by home care providers. My mother-in-law lives with my family. She is 90 years of age. Home care providers come to our home, which allows her to stay in the home, and I could not praise them highly enough for the work they do. They are caring, they work many hours and they provide what is in my view the primary care model. I would have major problems with anything that would jeopardise that, which is why I support Senator Burke's Bill. The providers with whom I come into contact operate to very high standards. If the current system which allows providers to operate did not apply such standards, it would be to the detriment of both the providers employed and the people they look after in their homes. I feel very strongly about this.

The accident and emergency department in University Hospital Limerick has been perennially overcrowded. I am the first to acknowledge that the structure is repugnant to proper care. There are low ceilings. It is very much like being in a pressure cooker because there are so many people crowded in there. We want to ensure people do not have to go into accident and emergency departments. Having home care providers, professionals providing services in the home, can prevent that from happening. We have a new accident and emergency department coming on stream. It will not be a panacea but it will go somewhere towards alleviating the pressure on the existing accident and emergency department.

There are other issues. I very much support the Bill that Senator Burke has brought forward. I want to look on it as a positive measure. It is about ensuring the reputation of and service provided by the professional providers are not undermined by someone who could operate under a system that does not have detailed regulation in place. I therefore hope this legislation is brought forward. I ask the Minister that this issue, which has been effectively pushed for a long time by Senator Burke, be fast tracked and we ensure it comes back before the House in some form with the contents of this Bill taken into account in order that we can ensure the primary care model we seek to promote is not only continued, but also enhanced. I commend the Bill to the House.