Madam, - Some important points are being lost in the sparring between the political parties on caring for the elderly. The devil is in the detail: it is not good enough just to give out statistics on the nursing home subvention and carer's allowance.
1. At present, the State allows tax relief on care for the elderly at home, but many people are not aware of their entitlements and how they can avail of them. The Revenue Commissioners should be charged with giving step-by-step advice on how this tax relief can be obtained, and it should be written in plain English that everyone can understand. Also, people should be made aware of exactly how this tax relief translates to the household balance sheet. For example, if it costs €30,000 a year to employ a full-time carer at home, how much of this sum will be the State return to you?
2. There are also grants of up to 90 per cent available for installing facilities for the elderly at home, but in practice it is made very difficult to get them - in effect, there might as well not be any grants.
3. The Government should put in place a standard by which private nursing homes can be assessed. Many are expensive, but in some cases, the quality of care is poor. An elderly person could be receiving inadequate care and be miserable, while the family is being charged a fortune for the privilege.
The Government must make it easier for families to care for elderly people at home and set easily obtainable tax relief and subventions at such levels that it becomes affordable. It must also set verifiable standards for nursing homes to ensure that the quality of life and dignity of elderly people are upheld.
Only then can we begin to call ourselves a civilised society. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID HICKIE, Sandymount, Dublin 4.