Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I propose to share time with Deputy Perry.

I congratulate the Minister on the improvements in the social welfare budget. It would be foolish to state that we do not welcome the increases being put in place. If one compares the position now to that which obtained a few years ago, one can see there has been a major improvement. However, one cannot ignore the fact that the cost of living has increased dramatically. I represent a rural constituency and I know the cost of transport, etc., has risen significantly. For example, health boards no longer supply taxi services for people obliged to attend hospitals or whatever and these people must pay for their transport out of their old age pensions. When one takes this into account, one can see that the sum of money available to pensioners is not all that fantastic. The position is even worse for someone who is obliged to pay money out of a disability pension. When one considers the situation of someone who must attend regularly at a psychiatric hospital to avail of support services, one realises that these increases are necessary in order to cover increases in the cost of living.

I will comment on two specific issues. The first of these is the carer's allowance. For two years I served as a member of an all-party study group appointed by the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs and I am extremely annoyed that more action was not taken in respect of the unanimous proposals put forward by that group in respect of carers. I welcome the fact that the respite grant will be made available to all carers. At least that is what the Minister stated. However, he also referred to a specific number, namely, 9,300. I cannot honestly understand how this low figure for the additional number of carers was arrived at. Even when it is added to the existing figure for carers, the final figure will fall a long way short of what any of the carers' organisations have suggested as being the real number of carers.

What criteria will apply to those who will be given the €1,000 respite grant? Will the grant be dealt with in the same way as carer's allowance? For example, a small farmer living in a rural area who cares for his aged father or mother or perhaps a disabled brother or sister and who is obliged to spend more than ten hours looking after his cattle is not entitled to carer's allowance. If he gave up the farm and worked for ten hours at a job in Dublin, the time spent travelling back and forward between Monaghan and Dublin would not be taken into account. However, when he travels from one out-farm to another, the time is taken into account. I am familiar with such a case due to come before an appeals officer in the coming weeks.

Those who give care to the elderly and who are told they are entitled to a respite grant should get it without too much questioning or red tape. Without them there would be a much greater problem than the one discussed last night in the House for a number of hours, namely, those at home. I want the Minister to take a serious look at the whole issue of those, in rural Ireland especially, who care for the elderly. When the means disregard was first introduced some degree of comment was made by the social welfare inspectors. If it was clear a person was giving full-time care, along with looking after a few cattle, then it was given. Suddenly new criteria were introduced under which the number of minutes and hours spent dealing with each animal had to be accounted for. As a result, people were prevented from getting the carer's allowance. This is serious and puts enormous pressure on people living in isolated areas.

I was given an assurance by the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Coughlan, that this would be reviewed. However it is clear from this Bill, the announcements on social welfare in the budget and anything I have seen so far that nothing has been reviewed in this regard.

The other area relevant to carers, discussed ad nauseam, was the issue of widows and widowers. If they are working outside the home and get ill they are entitled to half rate disability. However, if they are looking after loved ones in the home and getting a widow's or widower's contributory pension, as most are nowadays, they are not entitled to any carer's allowance. The Joint Committee of Social and Family Affairs put forward the suggestion that at least the work such people do should be recognised by giving them a half rate pension. I urge the Minister to review that. There was total and absolute unanimity among committee members that this issue should be dealt with, but nothing happened.

Farm assist is another issue I want to mention in passing. When the means test was introduced a number of years ago, it was supposed to provide for about 25,000 cases immediately. The actual figure was between 8,000 and 8,500 and there will be less from now on because of the movement in the direction of the rural employment scheme. Again, there are major question marks as people are literally afraid to go to social welfare inspectors because of the way the means test is carried out. Their books are ignored. The mythical idea exists that because someone has so many animals or whatever, the costs are the same as everyone else's, so therefore the person is earning x amount. Every farm is different and should be treated individually. I welcome the changes in the money a person is allowed to have in his or her bank, home or whatever. That is something the former Fine Gael spokesman on social welfare, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe, and I fought through this House, against the arrogance of the former Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern. I was pleased it was clear that at least the civil servants who sit behind the barrier in the House, were listening to us at that period and eventually introduced a realistic level of moneys that could be kept in a bank by someone on non-contributory social welfare. It means people are not hiding money under the mattress or leaving it somewhere where it is vulnerable to robbery. I realise this measure relates to investment bonds more than anything else, but it is an improvement that I welcome. I also welcome the measures as regards cross-Border activity, and that people may derive some benefits for working or living in a different state.

One cannot take the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill on its own, however. In my constituency, Cavan-Monaghan, somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 medical cards have been removed from people in the last seven years. We were promised that 30,000 extra cards would be given nationally. However, the removal of medical cards has significant cost implications for the low paid and those in poor circumstances. We do not just want 200,000 medical cards replaced, as promised. We want those which have already been withdrawn to be replaced as well by changing the means test to a realistic and reasonable level, taking into account cancer sufferers and people with long-term illnesses who are not currently entitled to medical cards as of right.

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