Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Naughten, who will be along shortly.

It is often said that you can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable. That observation can also be applied to how a state treats those who provide care to its most vulnerable. One could say that we know the cost of everything and the value of very little. In her opening remarks, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, stated that extending carer’s allowance in the way we are proposing could cost the State up to €600 million per year, but the PBO’s figure is €375 million. Either way, this is still a question of the cost versus value of something.

An amazing statistic is that more than 500,000 individuals in this country are family carers. They may provide care for loved ones because of physical or intellectual disability, physical or emotional trauma that may have been suffered, short-term or long-term illness, or the infirmity and loss of independence that come with great age. In all cases, they are providing care from a basis of family love, not perceived responsibility because no other care options are available to their loved ones. In all cases, they are providing significant benefit to the State, yet they are not being properly recognised for their efforts or for the care burden and costs from which they are protecting the State.

Carers are predominantly female, most often middle aged, and more than half are trying to provide care while also holding down employment. As the Minister of State knows, the number of recognised carers in our society increased by more than 50% between 2016 and 2022. This figure will undoubtedly rise because of our ageing demographics.

Truth be told, having a relative or close friend to provide care is a great blessing indeed, but for many carers, particularly those looking after children with additional needs, the caring responsibility may be the start of decades of responsibility. This has significant and, in some cases, profound implications for their mental wellbeing and financial security.

The present State position, which involves means testing family carers, is both demeaning and inherently unfair. The current assessment of carer's allowance to household income can deem a carer financially dependent on a partner's income. This can make a family carer financially vulnerable but it also denotes no State recognition whatsoever for the Trojan work that they are doing. Our motion today seeks to replace the current system with a non-means-tested scheme which would be based solely on the care needs of the individual care recipient and would recognise the incredible devotion and contribution of these 500,000 family carers in Ireland.

The State of Caring report in 2022 highlighted some harrowing statistics: that 27% of family carers surveyed are caring for more than two people - an incredible burden; that over 70% of carers surveyed experience severe difficulty in accessing State services for at least one of the people for whom they care; and that 80% of carers feel that the value they provide to society is not being recognised. Who could argue with the latter point? Doing meaningful work is an important component in building self-esteem. The fact that the State does not recognise properly the efforts of carers in our society also means that we are creating an emotional burden around our carers. How can we as a State continue to support that?

As part of our motion, we are also asking for the implementation and the establishment of a high-level officials' group to scope out and develop a roadmap for a non-means-tested participation income for family carers. We hope to see that means test completely abolished by 2027. This target date is one that we should not let slip. For too long, this country has failed to recognise the importance of carers in our society. If we are to consider ourselves a just and a caring people, we need to remedy that as soon as possible through legislative change in this House.

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