Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not take five minutes.

I thank the Minister of State and his officials for being here. I also thank the Minister of State regarding his enthusiasm for the important role he holds.

It is important to say that life expectancy figures place Ireland ahead of the EU average reflecting the country's strides in healthcare improvements over successive Governments. That is important, as is the family support many people receive. Ireland has the fifth highest life expectancy in the EU at 82.6 years. That did not happen by accident. It happened because of the initiatives of the Government, the cross-party initiatives, the proposals put forward, the committee discussions and the various strategies that are put in place to improve people's lives, including education so that people know what they should be doing, whether they do it or not, to try to live longer, such as giving up smoking. Some 79.5% of Irish residents reported their health is good or very good in a recent survey. That is the highest percentage in the EU. That is again reflective of policy initiatives and strategies that have been put in place.

I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to the statutory home care scheme. It is important that it be one of his top priorities. As a former member of the health committee, I know that the licensing of professional home care support providers came before the committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and we want to see that progress in the coming year. I look forward to that.

Members raised many common issues, including housing adaptation grants, loneliness, the fair deal scheme and public and private nursing home beds. I mentioned the small community of Clonbur, where there are eight homes behind the old convent, close to amenities. A local group organises it and determines who gets those houses on the basis of who is most deserving. That has been a life-saver for people who were living miles away. One of the initiatives I would like to see is the roll-out of more of those across the country. They would be small groups of houses, such as eight, ten or 20 units with wraparound services that are not in the middle of nowhere. They need to be close to the shops, church and wherever else people want to go,.the community supports and day care centres. Those models work. I am sure the Minister of State knows of other cases. They are important. They are a great interim solution for people who live at home whose family lives far away and is worried. They can still live at home in a community setting with wraparound supports, where people can visit, the meals on wheels service is available, a nurse can come in and people can have community support. That would be a great initiative. I ask the Minister of State to look at it as something we can work on and deliver.