Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: recognises that:

— more than 500,000 individuals are family carers, which means one in eight people in Ireland provide regular unpaid care;

— family carers are the backbone of care provision in Ireland, however they often lack support and recognition;

— caring intensively over a long period without support or recognition negatively affects a carer's physical and mental health, financial status, and social integration;

— for many carers who care for a child with additional needs their caring role is likely to last for many years, even decades, which has serious implications for their long-term health, wellbeing, and financial security;

— carers are predominately women, with people aged in their 50s most likely providing care;

— 57 per cent of carers enumerated in Census 2022 are juggling work with caring responsibilities;

— the number of carers increased by over 50 per cent between 2016 and 2022, and is expected to continue to increase significantly due to population ageing and an increase in the number of people living with life-limiting conditions; and

— according to the Working Paper of Family Carers Ireland entitled "Counting Carers: Carer Prevalence in Ireland" carers save the State billions of euro each year, therefore socially valuing care is essential;

notes that:

— the application of the current Carer's Allowance means test on household income can make the carer financially vulnerable by making them financially dependent on their partner's income;

— 129,702 carers caring for 146,046 care recipients received the Carer's Support Grant in 2023;

— only 95,848 carers caring for 107,598 care recipients receive Carer's Allowance;

— of those in receipt of Carer's Allowance 44,651 carers receive half-rate Carer's Allowance;

— 3,911 carers caring for 4,521 care recipients receive Carer's Benefit;

— 6,481 full-time carers received the Carer's Support Grant as a stand-alone payment in 2023 as they do not satisfy the Carer's Allowance means test; this means the annual grant is the only recognition they receive from the State; and

— according to the report entitled "The State of Caring 2022":

— 27 per cent of family carers surveyed are caring for two or more people;

— 70 per cent of family carers surveyed report difficulty accessing services for at least one of the people they care for; and

— 80 per cent of family carers surveyed feel the value of what they do is not recognised by society; and

calls on the Government to:

— fully abolish the Carer's Allowance means test, as reflected in the research published by the National University of Ireland Maynooth entitled "Towards a Participation Income for Family Carers" which was commissioned by Family Carers Ireland; and

— implement the unanimous recommendation of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands' Pre-Budget Submission of July 2023 to establish a high-level officials' group to scope out and develop a roadmap for the delivery of a non-means tested Participation Income for Family Carers thereby abolishing the means test completely by 2027.

On behalf of the Regional Group, I thank Ms Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh for all the work she put into this. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is here deputising for the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I must say, however, that we are disappointed in the fact that she is not here herself, not so much for us but for the fact that there are so many carers in Ireland who are looking forward to something happening. It would be remiss of me to say that we are disappointed on their behalf that she is not here to actually talk to us and see where we are going with this particular motion.

The motion we have put forward is to abolish the carer's allowance means test. It is very simple. A number of people in this country - more than 500,000 individuals - are family carers, which means that one in eight people in Ireland provide regular unpaid care. Every TD in this House has come across this in his or her constituency office or through representations. A person who is caring for somebody in his or her home gets a letter to review his or her carer's allowance and, all of a sudden, that person's income drops. Most of the time, it drops because the person's husband, wife or partner is earning money. The person who is providing the care still has to provide the care and is reliant on his or her partner, husband or wife for income support.

It is an absolutely incredible indictment of our system that we allow this to continue. We have met parents, as I am sure the Minister of State and every other TD have, who have been caring over a long period, who have given up work when a child is born with a condition that needs full-time care. Mothers and fathers forfeit their careers and income and dedicate their lives to caring for their loved one. However, the State does not recognise that care. It gives them a carer's allowance that is means tested. We recognise that the means test thresholds were increased in the budget but they do not go far enough. We need to get rid of the means test for carers. That is the absolute bottom line on this matter.

People will ask about the cost. Family Carers Ireland carried out research into this with Maynooth University which determined, as did the Parliamentary Budget Office, PBO, in the Oireachtas, that the cost of abolishing the means test is approximately €280 million in any year, while the benefit carers provide is worth approximately €20 billion per year. This is a no-brainer. If we do not start the process now, we will be talking about it again in ten years' time. The important thing is that dedicated carers have been penalised and have not been recognised by successive governments. They have been denied a State pension because they did not contribute. They have been taxed for providing a service, because carer's allowance is taxable income. They are discouraged from working for more than 18.5 hours per week and are required to provide 35 hours of care for approximately €6 per hour at the basic social welfare rate. They are often forced to give up work because they have to provide care full time. They incur additional costs in providing that care. The Indecon report stated that the cost of living with a disability is between €8,000 and €12,000 per annum, and often the carer bears the brunt of that.

At the end of the day, carers are getting fed up with this. I have a case of a woman who has been caring for her son for 28 years and her carer's allowance has been cut because her husband decided to try to earn a little additional money for the family.

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