Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleagues for sharing time. I also thank the Technical Group for tabling this motion and Members of that group for waiting in the Chamber. I came in when Deputy Sexton expressed passionate views on the tabling of the motion, but her passion was misdirected. If she displayed the same passion in her own parliamentary party, she might get some action. She seemed to forget her party was in Government. I am sorry she had to leave the Chamber.

I compliment voluntary groups working with the elderly. More is being done by them than by State institutions in looking after elderly people, particularly in their own communities. I have great respect for a new organisation set up in many towns and rural areas called the active retirement group. It does great work for elderly and retired people and keeps them active in their own communities, which is to be complimented. As most speakers have said, the greatest desire of people is to live as long as possible and to die in their own community and among their friends and family. More could be done at Government level to ensure that happens.

I compliment the great strides which have been made in respect of improvements in the carer's allowance but not enough people are getting the allowance to enable them to care for and keep people in their communities as long as possible. I have made the following point at every budget but I have not made it to the Minister of State. I have dealt with a particularly cruel case and I have asked for the past five years to have something done about it, yet it seems to be impossible. The official with the Minister of State knows what I am going to say because I have said it so often. I refer to the case of a carer who becomes a widow but who continues to be a carer. As soon as she qualifies for the widow's pension, she loses the carer's allowance despite the fact she continues to be a full-time carer for an incontinent person in her home. That is a cruel penalty on any carer. At every budget and in every debate on social welfare, I have asked that something be done to address that problem. A carer who becomes a widow and who continues to be a carer should not lose the carer's allowance simply because she qualifies for the widow's pension.

By keeping people in their communities, the carer's allowance saves the State several million euro each year. It is estimated that there are 120,000 carers, of whom about 25,000 receive carer's allowance. More people should qualify for the carer's allowance because keeping old people in the community is of much greater benefit to society and the younger generation. The person from whom I learned the best wisdom was my grandmother. The Government should make efforts to keep more people in the community for as long as possible by increasing carer's allowance and introducing less stringent qualification criteria.

Debate adjourned.

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