Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy Devlin and his guests to the Gallery.

I support the motion and thank Senator Kyne and all who were involved in putting it together. Many positive suggestions have been made, one or two of which I will mention. An issue that needs to be examined is the difference between private and public nursing homes and the fact there is possibly not enough public provision. As the Minister of State knows, the waiting lists for St. Camillus hospital in Limerick are unbelievable. Unfortunately, there are not enough beds to benefit the number of people who want them. He recently visited the dementia nursing home in Bruff, County Limerick, which I have also visited. That facility is of so much benefit to people who have dementia and it is also a great support to their families. The tearooms offer china cups, which helps to bring people back to their past. Such facilities provide residents with supported living conditions. If we could see more of those types of nursing homes around the country, it would be of great benefit to older people.

I compliment the sports partnerships on the amount of work those involved do with older people, from walking days to chair yoga and other activities. We talk about the fact we are all living longer but some of that is down to levels of activity. More support must be given to the sports partnerships to expand those programmes. They are very beneficial, particularly to people living on their own who are given an opportunity to go out and meet colleagues. That approach addresses the whole living alone factor. People have the ability to go out and meet colleagues and friends. They make friends out of these gatherings. This area needs extra support.

Another issue is the provision of home help hours. An allocation on half an hour or three half-hours a week is of little benefit. People need more security and more support.