Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)

The Minister must consider long-term and short-term entitlements.

The Minister could put the worst anomaly right at the stroke of a pen and at little cost. I have come across it in just two cases in my career, both involving disability benefit, which is a short-term payment. The families involved had children in higher education and qualified for the higher education grant. A top-up grant is payable by the Department of Social and Family Affairs if one's income is below a certain income threshold, which is approximately €15,500 per annum at present. The problem is that a person can be in receipt of unemployment benefit or disability benefit, which is below the threshold of €15,500, but because that payment is a short-term payment, the person is not entitled to the top-up grant.

This cannot be justified given that the student is at college and the parents are struggling on welfare payments to keep him or her there. If they were on long-term welfare payments, the Department would give them the top-up grant because they are below the threshold. However, because they are on short-term payments, it will not do so. Surely the Department could pay them for the year they are on the short-term payment and then let the case be reviewed if the parents return to work or otherwise. When there is a crisis in a family, its members must be looked after.

It is positive that the carer's benefit has been extended to 24 months but the Minister might address one query. With regard to a carer who has cared for, say, an ill mother for the current 15 month period, if there is a further requirement to look after the ill mother to get her through a difficult period, can the carer access the additional nine months of carer's benefit? This might apply to a small number of cases and it is only reasonable that it should happen.

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