Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I congratulate the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. This is a great motion in my view. I thank the Minister for accepting this motion on behalf of the Government. The Minister needs to be congratulated for the reforms she has implemented. I would say she has delivered more than any other Minister in the Department of Social Protection, as it is now known.We have seen the electricity allowance and other measures introduced in the past two years, particularly since the pandemic. I have no doubt that in the upcoming budget in October the Minister will have a good look at what is involved in her Department and the reforms that can be made. I also have no doubt she will look closely at the motion before us. As previous speakers said, the carer's allowance was introduced 33 years ago and the means test is going to cost close to €400 million. I hope the Minister will take a close look at getting rid of the means test.

I had first-hand experience of carers in action when they cared for my late mother who died before Christmas. She was in her mid-90s. I would not have been able to care for my mother. I would say I am speaking for the vast majority of men throughout the country. Carers do an unbelievable job. They do a great job for families and the State. They save the State millions of euro every year. The array of jobs they do in the home for the people for whom they are caring is unbelievable. It can include preparing meals, showering patients and making sure they get medicines. In my mother's case, we had carers who were provided by the HSE and others who were paid for by the family. They complemented each other and various hours were covered throughout the day and maybe at weekends. That worked really well. The carers provided an unbelievable service and my family is indebted to the people who cared for our mother.

I have been contacted by several people regarding respite, not only for families but in cases where a wife is caring for a husband or a husband is caring for a wife. They, too, need respite and we need residential respite in those cases. The patient should be taken into a residential home for a week or whatever length of time to give some respite to the spouse or whoever is doing the caring on a full-time basis. Let us face it, it is not just 40 hours a week, it is 24-7 care. It is all day every day, all year round and those carers need to get some respite. I agree with the previous speakers on that.

I raise with the Minister the issue of occupational pension schemes which I raised on the Order of Business earlier. This relates to An Post, Coillte, the Irish Aviation Authority and Eir. The occupational pension is €240 on average whereas the State pension is approximately €265. Increases in those particular occupational pensions require the approval of the Minister, whether that is the Minister for Social Protection or the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Perhaps it is both. Between 2008 and 2022, the State pension rose by 18.8% whereas the occupational pension for An Post increased by only 6.7%. That is not taking allowances into account. The occupational pension for these pensioners has fallen way behind the State pension. I ask the Minister to look at this issue in the run-up to the budget. If it does not fall within her remit, I ask that she bring it to the attention of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.

I am delighted the Minister will accept the motion. I congratulate the Labour Party again on introducing it. It covers a large number of areas, all of which are very important to different people. We have raised the mobility allowance, which is addressed in the motion, a number of times. Various mobility-related transport grants are available. The Minister should also address this area. We should do our utmost to do whatever we can for people with a disability to improve their lives and make life easier for them.

I welcome the motion and I thank the Minister. I have no doubt she will have a good look at all of the issues in this wide-ranging motion in the run-up to the budget next October.