Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Regional Group for tabling this motion, which is incredibly important and timely. The Social Democrats fully support it. The motion recognises carers' invaluable contribution to society and highlights their mistreatment by the State, which is something that I hope we can work collectively, across the Chamber, to rectify. I echo the call to fully abolish the carer's allowance means test, as reflected in the research published by Maynooth University and commissioned by Family Carers Ireland. One of its very simple conclusions was that there should be no means test. Of course, there should be no means test. To put it crudely, what exactly are we testing? Is it the nature of a person's care and the State's expectation that he or she will experience poverty in the process of providing that care? It comes down to asking what is the person's income, what is the level of care being provided, does the person earn lower than a certain threshold to be impoverished and is the care being given enough to exclude the carer from the workplace. It is brutal in its cruelty.

Family Carers Ireland hears from carers every year, mostly women, who have little or no support from the State for their caring roles. What stands out for me in my years as a public representative and having spoken to people about this issue is the amount of women who have had to leave the workplace to take up a caring role and because of their husband's payments, the State determines that they will no longer be in receipt of an income. So many lose their financial independence and that is absolutely scandalous. Many carers are left with no financial independence having spent their whole working lives doing the difficult but essential work that is care-giving. I know of no economic or social argument to justify denying financial security to people in that situation. The State owes them that much.

Fundamental reform of the carer's allowance scheme is essential as the status quo is completely inadequate, especially for young carers, many of whom are currently inhibited in their life opportunities outside of their caring role. The very idea of respite is fundamental. Many Members know of young people who have had to put their lives on hold to care for a parent or sibling. In doing so, they have had to remove themselves from socialising and many have no capacity to meet anyone. The people I talk to are struggling to pay their rent. Ours is a cruel and indifferent system.

I agree fully with the sentiments of Family Carers Ireland who succinctly present the policy changes we must see on the back of these discussions, which are captured perfectly in this motion. They include the introduction of a non-means tested participation income for all family carers who fulfil the assessment criteria, to be fully implemented by January 2027 and to be paid initially at no less than the contemporary carer's allowance rate. Family Carers Ireland has called for the creation of an implementation group "to ensure all aspects of legislation, costing, administrative feasibility, communication and eligibility criteria are clearly planned and in place before Budget 2027". Is states that this group should "follow co-production principles and include participants reflecting relevant aspects of public administration, family carers and representatives of people in need of additional care". The work of the group should begin this year and conclude as soon as humanly possible. The third reform called for is the benchmarking and indexing of a participation income for family carers in line with the recommendations of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare. The final policy change called for is the creation of a navigational operations group to improve navigational processes related to applying for and proving eligibility for the new support payment and existing payments.

Governments have long promised legislation to further support carers. As yet this promise is too late but we hope we are starting to see the benefits. Nobody should have to suffer this injustice any longer, yet carers are still peering over a cliff edge without any reassurances. The figures are startling. More than 500,000 individuals are family carers in this State, which means one in eight people in Ireland are not paid for the toil, sweat and tears they give in caring for a loved one. It is an obligation the State should be able to meet. They provide more care across the country than any organisation or institution, yet they receive the least support, praise and recognition for their sacrifice. So often we meet a person who tells us they are a family carer, and we all have that silence in between that space because we know they work they do is underpaid and under-recognised. They are being failed by the State.

Care often has severe mental and physical health effects for those who carry it out, problems which often arise later in life and would not have arisen if the State showed adequate support to those affected. Many carers find themselves in precarious situations financially. Some are parents of children with additional needs while others are relatives of ailing elders. They have seen decades of disregard by the State, which has refused to fairly remunerate their hard work. This predicament will not simply fade away, although the wish seems to be to sit idly by and watch the storm pass. The number of carers increased by over 50% 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.

We know that carers save the State billions of euro each year, yet they receive no acknowledgement of how great a burden they carry for the State. It is hard to think of a greater injustice than someone spending decades caring for a severely ill or profoundly disabled family member, all the while receiving little to no support from the State which they are aiding. It is less than that, even. They are tested, they are put through financial scrutiny and have their bank accounts analysed. This is the reality faced by many long-term caregivers who, lest we forget, had to fight so hard to spur the Government to create an adequate pension scheme for them, which is very welcome. No group is more deserving of the admiration and support of our society than people who spend years and decades in these caring roles. Aside from the social value provided, they save the economy billions of euro annually. While our carers are making an incalculable social and economic contribution to society, successive governments have totally failed to recognise these selfless efforts. The way the system decides who is entitled to fair support means some of the most deserving people in our society are left facing financial uncertainty and insecurity. The State does not value carers' work as much as it values paid employment. That is very clearly a fact. Public policy needs to reflect more modern thinking about what counts as valuable work in this State.

I wish the Minister of State very well in her new role. It is a vital and important role for so many people. I implore her not to maintain the status quo. There is a time to be radical in this space. So many people demand it of us. I wish the Minister of State well.

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