I call on Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. I know his question will be on promised legislation.

On the health of our elderly people, the lack of home help is still a serious problem in Kerry. I know it is an ambition of everyone in this Chamber to ensure that each old person is helped to stay in his or her own home as long as possible. However, we do not have enough home help hours for patients or the elderly in our county. At weekends and on Saturdays and Sundays, it is impossible to get cover. There is no cover for bank holidays. When designated home help people go on holidays, as they are entitled to, or get sick themselves, it is now happening that the old people they assist are left without any home help for two weeks at a time. We have a Minister and four Ministers of State in the Department of Health. I ask them to ensure that more home helps are hired in Kerry and that more hours are given to elderly people who wish to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. It will save the country and the State a lot of money if they do so.

I thank the Deputy. I agree with him, as do we all, that building a system which is fit for purpose and which supports people to live longer and better lives in their own homes will save a lot of money in comparison with a system in which they have to be cared for in residential settings. The difficulty at the moment, which I have mentioned on the floor here before, is twofold. It is not a matter of finance, to a point, because €420 million is being spent on home help and 17 million hours are being delivered this year. If one looks at the increase over recent years, the amount we are giving has increased exponentially but we cannot keep up with demand. We also cannot supply the number of home help staff that are required. That is another issue. As Minister of State, I have two choices. I can tinker around the edges and try to patch the system that is there, or I can bring in a complete new system that is fit for purpose and which addresses the issues which the Deputy is talking about, including weekend cover and ensuring sufficient staff for the demand. That is what I intend to do. That is pretty well in progress in my Department.