Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the announcement of extra hours for home help for people with dementia. I agree with what loads of people said today. I only have a minute and a half to speak so I will focus on one topic in terms of home help and carers. The work they provide is phenomenal. I have seen it myself. My uncle passed away last year from dementia and the care he received was phenomenal. We need more people, however. We need more carers and people working in that sector.

I am the spokesperson on enterprise and trade, and one of the challenges we have is work permits. We need to speed up the process of work permits for people who can come in and work as carers in this country. We can put as much money as we want towards dementia and Alzheimer's disease but we need people on the ground. To get as many people as possible, we need to speed up the work permits that are coming through the system in the Department. Anything the Minister of State can do from her side to emphasise the important role that would play in terms of carers and the hours they can provide would be really important. Having seen her work on this for the last two years, I know the Minister of State is totally committed and will provide solutions to this issue. It is very welcome. I acknowledge the work she has done over the last two years in that regard.