Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)

To go back to that figure, the Minister said a minimum of €628 million and up to €3 billion, if we go by those census figures, for those who have self-declared. I would like to get a sense of this. Does the Minister have an understanding of what lies on the spectrum? What are the differences between people who self-declare versus what that minimum is? Given that the Minister said €1.24 billion was spent on the carer's allowance, is he committing to a 50% increase in the carer's allowance over the lifetime of the Government, which is that extra €600 million? Is he committing to a quintupling or quadrupling of the carer's allowance over the lifetime of the Government to the €3 billion mark?