Ms Catherine Cox:

The point was made about carers' income. Many parents describe becoming a carer as being like falling off a financial cliff. They are working and have a good salary. Suddenly a child is born with a disability or an ageing parent becomes ill and they go from a decent salary to carer's allowance, if they even get it. Only one in four carers gets it because of means testing. If they get it, it is €237 per week. No one can live on that. The idea that a spouse's income is taken into account is unjust. Care work is simply not valued or recognised. Caring will come to all of us at some point in our lives. We will either provide or require care. It is a societal issue and it needs to be a priority for the Government. I was watching Katie Hannon's show last night and two societal issues were discussed. One was homelessness and the second was carers and the lack of respite. We need to keep it on the agenda and keep talking about it, to get to a stage where carers are not only told how great they are but are truly recognised, supported and valued. That is what we are looking for.