Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are not too many farms in my home constituency, but I do have family from Mayo and it has been an issue with neighbours and people known to us. I congratulate the Minister of State on this. It has been a lot of hard work in the past year and by the previous Minister of State, former Deputy Jim Daly before that. It is part of addressing sensitively a whole suite of measures for older people and the vulnerable in our community. We need to ensure we are looking at family carers. Getting the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act into being is my big thing, and the amendments.

As well as the announcements of this week, home caring is very important. There are people who do not have someone to speak up for them. They laugh at me because I have my name on my mask, but it is because I go out to people's houses who have family who have emigrated, whose families are all around the world and who have no one to advocate for them. I do things public representatives do not normally do. It could be that their landline is gone or simple things like that because there is no one there for them. I tell before I visit them that my name will be on my mask and they should not be afraid to open the door. We are on a fantastic trajectory under the Minister of State's leadership. I thank her and congratulate her. I hope she enjoys this moment because it is well deserved.