There is no doubt that the Bill is needed and that the regulatory framework to which the Minister of State commits is needed. In fact, it is long overdue. I am happy to see the service providers in this area regulated. I am also happy to see HIQA applying standards and that there are safeguards for the users of the service. Likewise, the role of the chief inspector and the work to be undertaken by that office is necessary. I read through the Minister of State's statement and I found no fault with the intentions of the Bill, and the reasons it is needed. However, the question I have for the Minister of State is whether he has costed the consequences of the implementation of this legislation because there is no doubt that all of what he is going to enforce through it is going to cost the service provider and, at the end of the day, it is the customer that will pay. As private and not-for-profit companies implement what is necessary under this Bill, they will incur huge costs. I have not seen any breakdown of the expected consequences of those costs for individual service providers. How is the Minister of State going to regulate for that? Are we going to have a situation like that of the nursing homes? They are price takers. They constantly complain that there is no profit in their sector because the Department is the entity that makes them price takers and that the Department has little or no consideration for the actual cost. If you do not acknowledge the actual cost, you risk the possibility of a lower standard being applied when the chief inspector or HIQA is not watching. That is my very serious concern. The current situation is that the Government pays for up to 3.9 million hours of disability services. Over the period from 2020, this has increased substantially. There is also provision for 26.7 million hours of older people's services. I support care of the person in the home. I want to see more of it. However, for a hospital to promise families that the service providers will provide a certain level of care to older people being discharged to their homes only for that not to be delivered is a bad way to do business. Those in the hospitals should be truthful to the families concerned so that they know what they will be given rather than being promised a lot more. The Minister of State has to address that because it is not fair to families who opt to care for these people at home. It is not fair for them to be misled by the hospital as to what can be delivered. I am not saying it is the hospitals' fault. The expectation is that the staff will be there. However, the reality is that staff are forced to make all sorts of efforts. They are forced to do five minutes here and then 15 minutes over there, which really makes little or no contribution to the person's state of care or to the family. They are pushed to the pin of their collar to fulfil the hours given to them by the service providers. Many of these are commercial entities as distinct from not-for-profit or community-based entities. I would like to see far more community-based providers so that people in local nursing homes would be getting care provided by people who are deeply interested in a standard, even without the legislation being in place. I am deeply concerned about the current situation. It is not right that people are not given the care their families are promised. I will make reference to a matter I have raised here and was referred to earlier on in the debate, the taxation of carer's allowance. Today, Revenue informed my office that it would not be undertaking inspections that might identify where arrears have arisen. I accept that. With regard to value for money, I ask the Minister of State to look at the money we are currently spending on caring for people in their homes and tell me whether he believes we are getting value for that money. Does he believe those being cared for are getting value?
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I acknowledge Deputy Malcolm Byrne and his group in the Public Gallery. It is the second time I have seen him there this evening. I hope they are enjoying their venture into Leinster House and I hope their visit goes well.
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I should have mentioned a group that is representative of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce. I call Deputy Tóibín.
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