Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State well in her new job. It is a really important role, particularly when it comes to carers. She knows that carers, and family carers in particular, comprise one of the most neglected groups of people in the State. They save us hundreds of millions of euro, and we pay lip service to their efforts. There are many things we can do. There is not a TD in this House who, at any given time, will not have lists of carers, applications for appeals, etc., that need to be sorted out. We are all well aware of the problems.

I thank the Regional Independent Group for providing the opportunity to discuss this matter further. We need a comprehensive rights-based charter for carers. We need a strategy that cuts across all Departments to make the rights of carers is a reality. We also need to ensure the reform of carer's allowance that is mentioned the motion and that we have spoken about here several times. It is wholly unacceptable that we have situations whereby carers are living in poverty and grasping for services that are not being provided, whether it be the different therapies or supports that are needed. They continuously ask where are the millions of euro that are supposed to be invested for people with disabilities and elderly people. Where is that money going? It is certainly not going to the carers and it is certainly not being used to provide the services to which I refer. Why does it take months for appeals to be dealt with? We go over and back.

If one considers the way genuine carers are treated in terms of trying to access the carer's allowance, one would think, given the level of detail requested of them, that they were criminals. I completely agree that there needs to be proper governance and auditing, but the questions posed and the repeated and constant requests for information are wholly unacceptable. Having to provide that information causes delays lasting months, and that is in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. I have cases on my desk that have been there for months. I continuously call the carer's allowance section in respect of cases. The officials often want one item of information and then it is something else and something after that. Can we provide the carer's allowance section and the appeal section with the resources they need to do the job and allow them to be able to communicate properly with applicants? Carers will be prioritised by Sinn Féin in government. We have shown that with the charter and many other things we have brought forward. Regardless of that, we have to do something now.

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