Privatisation of home help care

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday March 24, 2006 23:39 by SP Member - Socialist Party/CWI

Anyone listening to Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One would have been astonished to hear about an American franchise company setting up to provide home help care in Ireland for €21 per hour.

The following are the exchanges in the Dail between Mary Harney and Joe Higgins

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Let us address the Order of Business.

Mr. Bruton: On the Order of Business I would like to raise an issue that I know is central to the concern of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, namely, the nursing home legislation. We know that in 2001 the Ombudsman found that the health boards generally withheld the information from people that they were entitled to public nursing home beds, and many ended up in private nursing homes because that fact has been concealed from them. The Government’s health strategy said it would set out a clear legal basis on which eligibility for nursing home care could be decided, clarifying exactly the position regarding the Health Act 1970 when it was clear that anyone who held a medical card was entitled to appropriate care.

The Minister produced a Bill this week that has not in any way clarified the eligibility of those who hold medical cards.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The content of the Bill may not be discussed.

Mr. Bruton: This concerns the legislative programme. When will we see legislation from the Minister to clarify the exact legal rights of those who hold medical cards but who have not been allowed into public nursing homes and find themselves having to fund care in private ones? Why is it not being produced in tandem with other Bills that we have seen in the past two weeks?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Deputy Joe Higgins may speak on the same subject.

Mr. J. Higgins: Will the Tánaiste confirm that I heard correctly on RTE radio this morning that she proposes to hand the care of our elderly people over to a money-grubbing private American-based franchise, which will rip €10——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy is speaking about the contents of legislation. That is not in order.

Mr. J. Higgins: It will rip €10 for every hour a home carer would work caring for the elderly. The Tánaiste will not resource the public home help system——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy is not in order.

Mr. J. Higgins: ——yet she proposes this.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: We are on the Order of Business.

Mr. J. Higgins: There is a legislative point which was raised this morning. The so-called Comfort Keepers website——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy cannot raise it on the Order of Business.

Mr. J. Higgins: ——states that it will bring the comfort business to Ireland. I know the Progressive Democrats Party takes the biscuit——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy is talking about the contents of legislation.

Mr. J. Higgins: ——for crassness when it comes to how the health service should be treated.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.

Mr. J. Higgins: Rather than asking the Tánaiste when the legislation will be introduced or whether this will be put on a statutory basis, I ask her, for the sake of decency and our elderly, to scrap this crass incredible privatisation.

The Tánaiste: Deputy Bruton is correct. The Health (Nursing Homes)(Amendment) Bill, which was published yesterday, will deal with certain legal issues and will ensure that we have primary backing for the subvention scheme. It is being done on the advice of the Attorney General. The wider issue of eligibility and entitlement is the subject of ongoing work within the Department of Health and Children and legislation will be forthcoming as quickly as possible. It is a mammoth piece of legislation which deals with the issue of nursing homes as well as the wider issues of eligibility and entitlement.

The Government’s agenda includes policy proposals that have been prepared in respect of care of the elderly in order that we have equity of care between those who are in public institutions and those in private nursing home care. At present, the Government is deliberating on this issue. A small Cabinet sub-committee has been established to deliberate in respect of the policy agenda. We hope to make a decision in this regard quickly as, given the demographics of our population, it would clearly be unsustainable for every person over 70 to be entitled to nursing home care free of charge. That simply would not be affordable. We must have a fair and equitable system based on means and co-payments by the State and the individuals or their families, if possible.

Mr. J. Higgins: I asked about the——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: I call Deputy Rabbitte, on the Order of Business. We cannot have a discussion on the contents.

Mr. J. Higgins: I asked about legislation.

The Tánaiste: The new Bill will allow me to make regulations to change some of the existing criteria in respect of how the family home is calculated and so on. This Bill, which was published yesterday and which we hope will get through the House very quickly, will allow us to make regulations to change the existing manner in which the family home is taken into account as notional income. At present, this puts nursing home subvention care beyond the reach of many people who have an average family home, which is clearly unacceptable.

Mr. McCormack: Lots of Bill, but no cheer.

Mr. J. Higgins: What about franchises? The Tánaiste refuses to——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Chair has called Deputy Rabbitte.

Mr. J. Higgins: Clearly legislation is required to support this franchise idea.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Chair has called Deputy Rabbitte.

The Tánaiste: I am not franchising anything.

Mr. J. Higgins: The Tánaiste is not answering.

The Tánaiste: No legislation is promised in this regard. It would be normal for a company to establish itself.

Mr. J. Higgins: The Tánaiste will simply hand care over to an American private franchise, just like that.

The Tánaiste: The people involved are Irish.

Mr. Kelleher: They are not Russians anyway.

A Deputy: Or North Koreans.