Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like Senator Devine, I would like to thank the library service for the very comprehensive document it produced on elderly care. I have previously stated that the number of people aged over 65 now totals 637,000 and by 2030 the figure will be over 1 million. That is why we published the national plan for our health service. We currently have 2.6 beds per 1,000 of population, whereas the average in the OECD is 4.3.Some 51% of people who occupy hospital beds are aged over 65 so we need to plan ahead and build hospitals. The Government has just published the national development plan which includes a comprehensive programme for building hospitals. From 1978 to 2008, no new hospital was built even though the country was flush with money, whether that was false or otherwise. Three new hospitals are being built at present and a further seven will be set in progress in the next three years.

In respect of elderly care, I have published a Bill relating to home care providers. One can serve ten years in prison but on the day one comes out, one can set up a company to provide home care without being scrutinised or cross-checked. We debated the Bill but I ask the Leader to allow it to come back into the House for Report Stage. With a growing elderly population there will be a greater demand for home care. At the health committee last Wednesday we learned that there were 29,000 people in community hospitals and private nursing homes and the number will be approximately 42,000 by 2030 so we need more home care and we need proper regulation of the sector.