Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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No, but the Senator set out a concern. I want to be clear. The reasons people get different social welfare payments is because they have an entitlement or because they have particular needs within their family which generate additional payments.

In last year's budget, I looked at, and I will continue to look at, the issue of multiple payments. We had a situation, for example, where some people on CE schemes were getting double payments. The system could not afford that. Any cut is difficult and painful for the people concerned.

The Senator has emphasised her concern with regard to carers. This concern is shared by all parties. However, it must be borne in mind when looking at the statistics that some of the people who are getting a series of additional payments are getting them because within the home they are looking after children with a special need - which we want them to do - and the State is recompensing them for that work. Therefore, in discussing this issue, we need to be aware of the different categories of families receiving payments and supports from my Department. Carers do a great job for people who require a full-time carer, which is the criterion for getting a carer's allowance. It is important we have a knowledgeable discussion about how some families might have a profile of higher levels of payment. A big concern relates to the rent allowance and we have talked about how we might reform that. However, there are other additional payments some families get for special circumstances.