Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank her for the work she has done in this area. I acknowledge the great work she has done. I am aware that she is passionate about this. I am glad that we are having these statements on the nursing home sector. Caring is the future of work. While Ireland remains one of the youngest European populations, our demographics are changing as we live to greater ages and birth rates fall. Our ageing population means that we need to think about how we make jobs caring for old people now and in the future attractive, fulfilling and well-compensated. Currently the nurses, healthcare assistants and home helps that provide this care are, without a doubt, significantly underpaid. I know the Minister of State is aware that they do work that is physically, mentally and emotionally taxing for low wages, often in difficult working conditions. Care workers are often women and the sector employs a significant number of migrant workers. The low wages that care work commands reflect the low levels of trade union membership and the prevalence of precarious work. They also relate to historical trends of the work undertaken by women and by migrant workers being undervalued.

As a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and as chair of the Sub-Committee on Mental Health, I hear constantly about how recruitment issues due to high costs of living, inadequate pay and housing problems, especially in Dublin, are negatively impacting our ability to provide people with the healthcare they need and deserve. Similar shortages of teachers and bus drivers are impacting the provision of other essential public services. These jobs are essential. The pandemic brought that fact into sharp focus, yet they are rendered increasingly unattractive due to inadequate pay and working conditions. These jobs are the low carbon jobs of the future. To create a just transition to a carbon neutral economy and society, we need to empower workers to enter these sectors. We must face the reality that privatisation has facilitated a decline in working conditions and worse outcomes for workers and consumers.

I welcome the report of the strategic workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants that came out last month. It had 16 key recommendations relating to recruitment, pay, conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training, professional development, and so on. I am happy to hear the Minister of State endorses all the recommendations and can confirm that their implementation has commenced. I would love to hear more about that in the Minister of State's concluding remarks.

I support the efforts made by this Government to advance the vision of Sláintecare, which I think is a brilliant strategy. We need to think ambitiously about the framework of a public healthcare system. We also need to think about how that idea of universal access and public provision relates to the care of old people. Our response to the closure of private nursing homes and the resulting loss of beds should not just be about giving more money to private operators. Research has shown that carers employed by the HSE make more money, enjoy better working conditions and have much higher rates of trade union membership than those working for private companies. In the US, research has shown that the acquisition of nursing homes by private equity firms increased the short-term mortality rate for residents by 10%. That is fantastic. Private equity firms are snapping up nursing homes all over Ireland. This should be a source of major concern. I agree with Senator Gavan on this issue. We must take decisive action. Privatisation has failed. We need a national care service that can provide the kind of comprehensive, high-quality care people deserve, delivered by well-paid, unionised care workers who are treated with the respect and the appreciation they deserve.