Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words about the motion. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House and wish him well. I do not think I have spoken in the House when he has been here. We served together in this House for a good number of years. I compliment Senator Seery Kearney on tabling the motion. It is a great motion. There is very little in it against which someone could argue. It is a very timely motion. As Senator Conway said, changes have taken place over recent years.

We cannot be thankful enough for the work carers do. They do enormous work. I can speak of this first-hand because my mother, who will celebrate her 94th birthday tomorrow, has availed of the caring services for a good number of years, and the fantastic care they give is unbelievable. Carers should have been one of the groups vaccinated first. They move from house to house, in recent times at great personal cost to themselves. In some cases they have contracted Covid and have been liable to take it with them to other houses. There are two aspects to this. There are the HSE carers. In my mother's case they are Sarah Staunton and Kathleen Vahey. Then there is a company, a franchise, run by Home Instead Senior Care, which in Mayo is run by Oonagh Cox. She has quite a considerable number of staff. Martina Brennan, Cathy Heneghan and Stephanie Flannery are carers who call to my mother. I can see first-hand the work they do. It is not just the work they do in terms of caring and the needs of the patient; they also all have a great word to say to the people for whom they are caring, even if it is only the news, turning on the television or meeting them for half an hour during the day. All this is very welcome for the person being cared for, who may not see another person again for a number of days or until the next carer or that particular carer calls around again.

Senator Seery Kearney is quite correct: there is a great need for respite care. There is also a great need for training courses to help carers to use lifting equipment. This is very important, whether it is the chair or the lift in a toilet or shower. All these issues are very important, and this is an area I hope the Minister of State will take on board. It needs the earliest possible intervention.I welcome the pilot scheme for carers' needs that is being rolled out in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. I hope this scheme will be rolled out through the country in the not too distant future. I welcome the motion. It is a great motion. A lot is being done and great credit is due to the Government and to all the people and staff involved. There are great changes. The people who avail of care taking place at home are much happier than in nursing homes or in hospitals.