Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to respond to the criticism of the home care package in the context of the discussion document. The Minister has examined the provision of home care in four different countries.The document is opening up the debate on home care. I am a little disappointed that it is being criticised when it is barely off the printer. The issue is one for public debate and I look forward to hearing concrete proposals from Sinn Féin, particularly on how it would fund home care. We are facing major demographic changes as people live longer, with the number of people aged over 65 set to increase from 600,000 to more than 1 million. We must plan for this scenario and the Minister of State with responsibility for older people is setting out a clear plan for how we will move forward in this matter.