Fianna Fáil puts Fair Deal crisis at centre of Dáil debate this week – Cowen The Dáil will vote a Fianna Fáil motion this week on the Government’s disastrous handling of the Fair Deal crisis. In the past year there’s been a four-fold increase in the number of older people waiting for a nursing home bed under the scheme to over 2,000. Fianna Fáil TD for Offaly Barry Cowen commented: “We now have more than 2,000 older people languishing on the Fair Deal waiting lists for a place in a nursing home under the scheme. It is outrageous that the Government has let this crisis get this far. These are elderly people who need care and support. They should be treated with dignity. The last thing that should be expected of them is to wait for months on end or jump through hoops because of government incompetence. “The Dáil will debate and vote on a Fianna Fáil motion this week. Our position is simple. Funding diverted away from the Fair Deal scheme must be restored. €23m was redirected from the Fair Deal programme to pay for other packages leaving a substantial funding gap. This is causing unnecessary stress and anxiety for older people and their families. It also puts a huge financial burden on relatives of older people. “In my own area there has been an increase of 300% in one year alone. The figures for Laois-Offaly increased from 17 in September last year to 68 in the September this year. “The 2015 HSE National Service Plan is being drafted at the moment. It is crucial that this plan reverses the reduction in support for the Fair Deal implemented in 2014 and that long-term residential care is adequately resourced to take account of demographic changes. The Department of Health has estimated that it would appear a minimum of 7,600 additional beds for long-term residential care will be required between now and 2021. This requires a comprehensive strategy from the Government instead of allowing thousands of older people to wait for months on end before receiving the care and dignity they deserve.” -Ends-
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:22:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015