Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that four years on government inaction on statutory home care represents an abandonment of our duty to our older and more vulnerable citizens that it is often beyond the ability of many families to afford home care.

Speaking in the Dáil, Teachta Crowe said:

“Adequate home care provision allows older people to live with dignity and respect in their own homes. Additional supports also contribute to, and are vital for, independent living. The Government has often repeated there is a commitment to introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes and Government members cite the fact that it is in the Programme for Government. Like others, I want to see it in legislation and being budgeted for, rather than in meaningless statements in the Dáil or Seanad.

“The Sláintecare report was specific about ending the overreliance on market mechanisms to deliver new healthcare services through the expansion of public nursing homes and home care.

“That Programme for Government is almost due for renewal and we have seen precious few results, despite the usual flurry of activity and noise the Government believes is just as good in many cases. A public consultation was held, and a pilot even tested almost two years ago. We are told time and again that the Department of Health is still researching funding models. This is all to be published or done in coming months and the next election has to be held by March 2025. There are not many months left for this element of the Programme for Government to be introduced.

“Without access to affordable residential care or care in the home, people are forced into a hospital system that cannot afford to accommodate them and is unsuited to their needs. The awful phrase ‘bed blockers’ is often used. Too many people are stuck in hospital beds when appropriate care can be delivered elsewhere.

“Hospital stays should be an option of last resort when people just need a little help to live a semblance of an independent life in their own homes. It should not be the only resort. Thousands of delayed discharges of elderly patients are creating bottlenecks in our hospitals each year because people have nowhere else to go. It creates a knock-on effect through the services, leading to cancelled appointments and surgeries because of a lack of beds. It represents an abandonment of our duty to our older and more vulnerable citizens that it is often beyond the ability of many families to afford home care.

“The Government must stop burying its head in the sand on this issue, and finally prioritise older people and those with disabilities to ensure they get the support they deserve rather than simply trying to privatise anything that stays still long enough, just as it did with nursing homes and dental care.”