Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While Brexit negotiations are under way, there are many other issues that the Government needs to tackle. Last night's "Prime Time Investigates" programme illustrated the lack of support for carers. Many of us are well aware of this, but it took a "Prime Time" programme to bring it to light for the general public and the political community at large.

There are 200,000 people dedicated to caring for their loved ones. Alarmingly, this figure is on the increase and 35% of those caring for loved ones are over the age of 85 years. This House held a debate on the ageing population and the lack of services, especially health care. This area is very worrying. These carers provide over 6.5 million care hours per week to the State, free of charge. They save the State millions of euro. A total of 9% of these carers provide full-time unpaid care with no breaks at all. Respite services are poorly funded or non-existent, especially for people who need 24-hour care.

The RTÉ programme showed some cases and we all know of examples. There were some heartbreaking stories and some lovely ones which showed people's humanity to their loved ones. That is not reflected in the State's care for its citizens. The programme introduced us to Jack Brennan, a gentleman aged 85 who is caring for his wife, Bernie. He would not put her in a care home because he loved her too much. We also saw Jacinta Walsh from Drogheda, who is caring for her 18 year old son who has autism. His name is Sam O'Carroll. Sam also has other conditions. His behaviour is unpredictable and he can be extremely violent towards her. She has suffered serious assaults. There is no respite care available for that lady or her family. That is quite distressing and it is shameful that the State is not able to help her. I would like the Minister for Health to come to the House to outline exactly what he plans to do in respect of home care hours and respite services. Although this issue is not in the headlines like Brexit, it is part of people's daily lives and needs to be addressed.