Nessa Cosgrove (Labour) | Oireachtas source

While much of the content of today's motion has merit and is welcome, I must echo my colleague, Senator Tully, in saying that Fine Gael has been in government since 2011. I would hope that the commitment from this motion will continue. I welcome the motion's acknowledgement of older people's worth and value as contributors to society, not just economically but in terms of raising family, and the recognition of their contributions as volunteers throughout our society. However, there is much which remains unstated and which is particularly pertinent to this debate. Older people, by continuing to live in their own homes, in their own communities, among their own people, act as stores of wisdom and knowledge and provide tremendous stability, especially to those younger than themselves. I recognise the work of ALONE, which does tremendous work throughout the country. In my area, I have relied on them often as a county councillor. Senators have spoken about the half a million family carers, many of whom carry out completely unpaid work because they exceed the income threshold. I am delighted to see that the abolition of the means test is included in the programme for Government. I hope it is more than just an aim to phase it out and that it actually will be phased out.

For the purposes of today, I would like to concentrate on professional care workers and home care assistants. Whether older people remain in their own homes or move into a nursing home, they are often able to recognise that they provide richness to the lives of their carer. The truth is that all of us like to be useful. Feeling useful in and around the home helps to combat loneliness, which has come up a few times today. This in turn improves health outcomes, particularly in terms of longevity and cognitive function. However, unless we meet the basic care needs of individuals, we are not going to be able to meet the needs outlined here. Even Ibec, in its Better Care, Better Business report from February 2024, not only recognised the shortcomings in professional care but also identified some of their causes. In 2024, the HSE employed fewer home care assistants than in 2017 while only 40% of home care hours are directly delivered by the HSE. There are vast differences between rates of direct employment depending on where one lives. In Donegal, 90% are HSE-employed and 10% are in the private sector. In Sligo-Leitrim it is 50:50. Why is there such a difference? Yet again, we see what happens when the State's responsibilities are farmed out to the private sector.

Despite commitments made to ensure that home care workers receive a living wage and are paid for mileage and travel time, these rules are regularly flouted. Workers employed directly by the HSE benefit not only from better starting pay of €35,000, as opposed to a minimum annual remuneration rate of €30,000, but also from additional benefits which their counterparts in the private sector do not receive. There is no such thing for private care workers, and often there can be a pay difference of €14,500 between someone at the top of the HSE pay scale and a private sector worker. Beyond the patent unfairness of this situation, low pay has had a significant negative impact upon family prospects for migrant workers who want to be reunited with their families and on whom the sector is very much dependent. There are glaring differences between private and public sector workers. I urge that the State look towards a fully publicly funded sector with employment opportunities for all working within that sector.