Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the House. I raise this issue in regard to the provision of respite beds at the Sacred Heart Hospital, Castlebar. As the Minister of State will know, the Sacred Heart Hospital, Castlebar, was renovated in the past ten years. St. Joseph's ward, where the respite beds are, was renovated during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a respite bed and a rehabilitation bed in St. Joseph's Ward. Prior to Covid-19, there were two respite beds at the Sacred Heart Hospital in St. Joseph's ward.

There is plenty of room in the ward for many extra beds. In our district hospital in Swinford, which is 16 or 17 miles away, there are nine respite beds. We are all aware that Castlebar is one of the largest towns in Connacht, but there is not great public transport between Castlebar and Swinford. One bed is not adequate for the requirements of the large population in the large hinterland around the country town of Castlebar.I urge the Minister of State to look into this matter very seriously. I hope she will have some good news for me. There is a lot of agitation locally for the provision of an extra bed or an extra two or three beds because the space is there and it can be done quite cheaply.

We all know the work carers do. I have seen it at first hand. My mother lived to a great age; she lived at home until she was in her 96th year. We could not have looked after her had it not been for the carers. There are so many families like that now. They are saving the State so much money by looking after people at home. Some family members who are looking after a loved one will require respite. The biggest problem is the inadequate number of beds. Cancellations also cause hardship.

A pensioner who is acting as a carer only gets a half-rate carer's allowance, which is not very fair. The only thing that changes between being 65 years of age yesterday and 66 years of age today is that a person loses half the carer's allowance. I ask the Minister of State and the Government to look at this. We had an unsuccessful referendum earlier this year. Here, we have a situation in which people who are caring for loved ones in a full-time capacity and who reach pension age only get a half-rate carer's allowance. They paid for their pension. This is most unfair to those people. I hope the Minister of State has some good news for us today and she will bring back to the Government the issue of the half-rate carer's allowance for people who have paid for their pensions and are now in a position to draw down their pensions.

The provision of an extra bed or two at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar is badly needed to serve the local needs of a big, populated area in the hinterland of Castlebar.