Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

This group of people have committed their lives to looking after the elderly and for doing so deserve some recognition. The argument that traditionally no one has ever received a second social welfare payment is always used. Yet, in the majority of cases the widow's or widower's pension is an entitlement paid for through contributions.

On means testing, I make no apologies for representing the farming community on this issue. Many small farmers must look after elderly loved ones at home. However, if a small farmer works over ten hours on the farm, he is not entitled to a carer's allowance. When the introduction of the single payment was introduced, common sense prevailed but it has now gone out the window. If the Minister changes the carer's allowance system, he will be long remembered for it.

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