I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important matter and the Minister for coming to the House.
I put this matter down as a direct result of a telephone call from a councillor colleague in the far west of Cavan last night. I was frightened by the case of a man over 80 years old, with a medical card and old age pension, who has been living in a nursing home for the last two years. His wife lives alone in a traditional country cottage and has to provide €60 out of her pension to retain that person in the home. The health board had rightly demanded that the nursing home carry out repairs to the home, which obviously cost it money, and it had to increase its charges. The health board subvention section has said it does not have any money and it has put this man on a waiting list. It has indicated that if money becomes available, it will subvent that extra €60. That is extraordinary.
I was present in the House yesterday when various Ministers outlined the massive funding that had been given to different areas. A total of €8.2 billion is available to the Minister for Health and Children this year, with a budget of €8.9 billion predicted for next year. That is sizeable funding in anybody's book. The people on this side of the House have not argued about the amount of money available but about the way it is being spent. One cannot help but wonder why a woman who lives alone in her declining years, who has given a lifetime's service to this country, has to pay €60 out of her pension to retain her very ill husband in a nursing home. I emphasise that it is not an expensive nursing home. It is one of the smaller ones in County Cavan but it is doing an excellent job. A cousin of mine who reached the age of 104 remained there for many years. The service this nursing home provides is tremendous.
In the same discussion I was informed of a case involving an 82 year old lady who benefited from the home help service and had a visit from a health board official. As we all know from our parents or otherwise, elderly people always like to offer a cup of tea to visitors and, despite the problems faced by this woman, she made a gallant effort to make a cup of tea for the health board official. Unfortunately, in doing that she showed that she had some ability and she subsequently lost her home help. How low can we go in terms of looking after those who kept this State going when times were not so good and when there was no Celtic tiger?
I know of another case where an aged person had their ten hours home help service cut to five. Is this an era of good management or one in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I know of many other cases, including one involving a 95 year old lady who has a full pension, medical card, etc. This woman's daughter is being asked to pay a sum of money also in spite of the fact that she is looking after her own seriously ill husband. Where will all this stop? We used to have a caring society. These questions would not have been asked many years ago but these people are being forced to pay this money.
I am advised that the subvention budget is overrun, but there should not be a limit on the subvention budget. If the elderly need care and nursing homes are available, and the means test criteria have been met, there should not be a waiting list for subvention. Whatever way the massive amounts of money available to health boards have to be redirected, the elderly, the disabled and those who need home care should not be discriminated against.