Ms Catherine Cox:

To add what everyone said, in the short term there should undoubtedly be an increase in carer's allowance in the budget to €350, which is equivalent to the PUP. Outgoings such as rent, costs of care, in particular, travel, dietary requirements and incontinence care should be included. A broader issue is to stop family carers having to bare their souls through the media and coming here today and having to tell their stories, and that is what has to happen for one individual to get his or her situation fixed. We support people to do that because the system is flawed and broken. Rather than trying to just react to he who shouts loudest, we must fix the system. The increase in carer's allowance and abolishing the means test would be a very significant and positive step towards that.