Cabinet discussions this week on the issue of elderly care were of a "preliminary nature" but the Government would welcome a Dáil debate on the issue, Tánaiste Mary Harney said.
"Those in the population who are over 65 now represent an age-dependency percentage of 18 per cent, and this will double over the next 20 years so there are major issues with which we must deal," she said.
Ms Harney was responding to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who suggested the Government should bring out a Green Paper on the issue for discussion in the House.
He referred to this week's Cabinet meeting at which the Government discussed the options for a new long-term care system for older people.
The Green Paper could then be brought to social partnership talks, rather than having a scenario "where the Government discusses the matter but makes no decision and we then hear about various aspects on the news without anybody in the House being consulted".
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte asked if the ESRI attitude survey presented before the Cabinet and reported yesterday in The Irish Times be made public. The survey showed that a significant majority are opposed to older people having to sell or remortgage their home to help pay for care.
Ms Harney said the Government "did not have any such report at Cabinet yesterday nor did it discuss public opinion polls on housing. I do not know where the report came from but it certainly was not on the agenda yesterday."
It is understood the report was presented to a previous Cabinet meeting.
