Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I will be supporting the motion. This is an important issue and one that has been crucial to me in my campaigning life. I had the honour of working with Older and Bolder, with other organisations across Ireland and with thousands of older people in the Make Home Work campaign. It is so clear whenever we talk to older people that, in the vast majority of cases, they want to be able to live in their own homes and communities and to continue contributing to those communities. It is very important to recognise that those older people who are living at home often play a vital role in their families and communities. Even people on the road to dementia or Alzheimer's disease still have contributions to make and roles to play. It is very important to recognise that home care benefits, not only the individual, but also the social fabric of our communities.

We need to acknowledge the mistakes of the past in the House. This is important and my colleague, Senator Conway-Walsh, has spoken about this. The public service recruitment embargo was a blunt tool which had consequences across all kinds of areas. We need to collectively acknowledge that and recognise the damage it caused. We also need to recognise the damage caused by the focus on privatisation in the area of home care work.

I welcome the fact this motion recognises the problem of the time-to-task approach that was brought in. When I worked with Older and Bolder and with older people across Ireland, we heard again and again of people who had been moved from two hours to one hour to half an hour of home help. Suddenly they only had five minutes to shower. They were not eating as well. The quality and nutrition of what they were eating and, crucially, the quality of contact they received was changing. We need to have a rights-based and needs-based approach to care. This begins with recognising the care needs and rights of the individual. I welcome that aspect of the motion.

Having campaigned on this issue in the past, I have to acknowledge the fact that this matter has been paid an extraordinary amount of lip-service but has been allowed slide again. The very fact we saw €11 million less spent on home care shows that as an option it seems to be becoming less viable for people. When I worked with Older and Bolder I also visited into residential care homes and spoke to older people living there about the options they felt they had. There are people in those homes for no other reason than that they needed two hours of care a day. They needed somebody to help with the cooking, to help them into bed and to help them at crucial points in the day with simple tasks. That simple support was not there for them. There are people in residential care homes who should not be there. It is important people have choice, and I want to emphasise that. This week we saw a case of a couple separated over access to a residential care home. We need to recognise that older people have the same rights to relationships and to a full life as all citizens have.

I am happy to be a member of the all-party Oireachtas group on dementia and my colleague, Senator Kelleher, who established that group has played a key role in this. I support the motion but, to be honest, I would like it to be a little bit more ambitious. It speaks about addressing inequity and it asks for some positive aspects of the scheme to be extended. I would like to hear from those proposing this motion that they will be supporting the regulations pushed for by Senator Kelleher and by Senator Colm Burke. If we are to have a collective effort on this, there needs to be consistent pressure in the debates and negotiations around resourcing in this area. Fianna Fáil will, of course, be there, as will Fine Gael. Resourcing has to be addressed and the rights-based approach has to be recognised.

I support this motion but it is important we do not simply have a situation where each party has something it can tick off in terms of what it has achieved on home care. What we need instead is a commitment from all sides to deliver and transform the way we address this matter. The Minister of State is inheriting a commitment to a consultation on a statutory entitlement to home care. I know from the Make Home Work campaign, we know from our National Positive Ageing Strategy and we know from every conversation we have had with experts and with citizens that there is a demand for care in the home. I urge the Minister of State to make that consultation sharp and efficient, to turn it around and to deliver it so that we have that statutory entitlement and a scale-up in investment.

One thing which I very much regret is missing from this motion is the question of quality employment in the home care area. If home care is to become a viable option we need to recognise that this is not simply an area of investment. It is one of the areas which delivers the highest return of employment and which has the most potential to provide employment in every corner of this country. Those working in this area should be paid well and have decent conditions. That allows them to become active economic agents who can spend and invest in their local communities. This is one of the most job-intensive areas and it is growing right across the world. I urge the Minister of State to ensure this will be an area of high quality investment and that there are high quality standards for those working in the area as well as for those receiving home care.

Over 1,000 older people came to events around the country to contribute their ideas to the National Positive Ageing Strategy. I would like the Minister of State to ensure that, as the National Dementia Strategy is implemented, we also see the National Positive Ageing Strategy driving forward.

As part of that collective work, I hope the House will support the recognition of care credits within our social protection system, in particular for the 48% of care that is provided informally by family members. That is also part of the picture. Part of what allows these people to continue providing care is that they have home care support.