Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh for all the work she did in putting this motion together.

We continually hear praise being lavished on people who act as full-time carers for others. They are often described as heroes, and rightly so. However, the motion we are discussing today is an attempt to go further and do something concrete for the people who look after the most vulnerable in our society.

It is not right that families should struggle to pay their bills because even a relatively modest household income makes them fail a means test and disqualifies them from getting a carer's allowance. There are huge additional costs in looking after someone with a disability, which increase in line with the severity of the disability. Thousands can be spent on essential equipment, disability aids, transport and medical care. Family Carers Ireland, in its most recent state of caring report, showed the extent of that struggle, with two thirds of carers experiencing financial distress. Some 13% of carers are in arrears on rent or mortgages and 16% are in arrears on their bills, which is twice the rate in the rest of the population. Research carried out for Social Justice Ireland two years ago found that additional costs of almost €250 per week were incurred by householders who look after a child with a profound disability. The massive increases in the cost of living since then will have put the total additional outgoings of these families well above that figure. I am sure most Members of this House will have come across difficult cases, such as when one parent is a full-time carer for a child with a severe disability but does not qualify for the carer's allowance because the partner's income is just above the qualification threshold.

While the report puts the number of carers at half a million, it also predicts that by the end of this decade, one in five people will be a carer. Census figures show that the proportion of the population who provide regular unpaid care is highest in the western counties, at almost 7%, in Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim. They are doing a job that would otherwise fall on the State at a huge cost to the Exchequer. We need to recognise that in a concrete way.

I welcome the measures introduced in January of this year which allow people who have been full-time carers for almost 20 years to qualify for a contributory State pension when they reach retirement age, but it should not be restricted to those who have spent more than two decades caring for a child with a disability or other loved one. Parents could be in the role of a full-time carer for 19 years and not be able to get credits towards a pension through normal employment. Why should they or any parent who is not in the workforce for five years not have that time credited to them in pension contributions?

The Family Carers Ireland report I mentioned found that 71% of carers felt left out of the society and a shocking nine out of ten of them felt the value of what they do is not recognised by the State. Too many struggle with loneliness, exhaustion and getting access to respite care. Now is the time to turn that around and show these wonderful people they are very valued members of our society and to recognise that by taking away at least one of the barriers that is having an impact on their lives. We need to remove the means test for the carer's allowance and establish a proper income that recognises the value of what they do.

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