Ms Catherine Cox:

I will answer the Deputy’s question on emergency respite. Last year, Family Carers Ireland received €600,000 to provide emergency respite throughout the country. We could not broadcast that we had that money because the demand was already there. If we had said we had it, we would have been flooded and would not have been able to meet demand. This year, we are looking for €2 million. That would allow us to support families in emergency, as Ms Tighe said. No family wants to be in that situation, but if a family carer, for example, needs to go to hospital with a medical condition, they have peace of mind knowing Family Carers Ireland can step in, look after their loved one and put in place a support system for them. For €2 million per year, which is a very small amount in the overall scheme of things, we could alleviate that huge stress on families.

On what happens at 66 years of age, if a carer is getting carers allowance and they reach 66 years of age, thanks to the previous Minister, Heather Humphreys, there is a pension for carers providing full-time care for 20 years or more. The carer goes on to the State pension contributory if they have those years. However, their carers allowance is halved. They get the half rate carers allowance.