Manus Boyle (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion.

As we know, there are a lot of problems in healthcare with the increasing population and people living longer. I met a group of carers in Killybegs on Monday. They are caring for their loved ones at home and crying out for respite but they cannot get it. Respite is nearly a thing of the past in County Donegal. One family I was working with were offered respite for 27 September of this year. That is totally unacceptable for someone who cares for their loved one 24-7 in their own home. Carers need a break too. They are living with this day in, day out. The recruitment embargo for carers needs to be lifted urgently.

Another issue in Killybegs relates to dementia, which my party colleague Senator Kyne touched on. Dementia is a very big problem. Of the 15 carers I met, ten have dementia patients and they care for those people day in, day out.

Day care centres need to be opened five days a week but since Covid-19, this has not happened. So many depend on day care centres for their meals, activities, health monitoring and social outings. Home care hours need to be increased to support people living at home and I concur with Senator Kyne, who made the same point. We need to try to look after people at home for longer and that will impose less of a burden on the State.

On support for people with disabilities, since I was elected to the council in June, four or five people with disabilities have told me there are not even public toilets in some parts of Donegal for people with disabilities. We need to increase funding for the fair deal scheme and ensure the applications do not take longer than four weeks to be processed. We should also accelerate the housing adaptation grant, increase funding for the national meals on wheels programme, support the nursing home sector and call on the Government to do so.

On the issue of older people, too, I was in an emergency department on Sunday night and was saddened to see what is going on for older people coming in using wheelchairs. One older person was there for seven hours, from when I went in and until I came out, sitting in a wheelchair. In this day and age, we need to have some kind of a fast-track system for somebody who is aged and using a wheelchair to try to get them through the system a lot more quickly.

Mental health issues also need to be addressed. People are suffering in silence. A man I met last week told me that if he came down the pier with a broken arm or leg, I would try to help him, but that nobody understands what he is suffering. There is an issue there and we need to try to help people when they need it.

Patients have to travel for four hours on a bus from Donegal to Galway to get cancer support services. In this day and age, that is too long and something has to be done about it. Donegal needs a fully supported cancer care service and I am calling for one for Letterkenny University Hospital. This is essential for a county the size of Donegal. When I was knocking on doors in June, I met some former Senators, and one issue that arose was the isolation and loneliness of older people at home. They really feel it and since Covid, they feel it a lot worse. They have been so isolated and people are now afraid to call to them because of what they might catch. Those days of going to visit your older neighbours are kind of gone in the rural communities.

One issue has come home to roost to me since I was elected to the council in June. I was approached by a couple of older people who are nearing the end of their lives. They wanted to get closer to home and be moved into a community hospital but no beds were available. For my last days anyway, I would like to be near to my home. We should try to do something there. It might be for only a week at most, but it is important for that person to spend that week with their loved ones in the town they know, where they can look out the window and see the sea or whatever. That needs to be addressed.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I hope he will take on our points.