Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I seriously disagree with the Minister's priorities. He said he found 25 times the cost of this concession in his tax package and he did not feel home carers were worthy of consideration in devising the package. Home carers have been left out every year since individualisation was introduced. The Minister did not weigh up the relative needs of home carers and their families and he did not have a great struggle with his conscience. Every year home carers have not received a shred from the Government parties. The carer's allowance was introduced under pressure from Fianna Fáil backbenchers, rightly so, because they recognised the proposal of the Minister's predecessor was unbalanced. The carer's tax allowance was then introduced and subsequently converted to the carer's tax credit. Not a single farthing has been found since to increase the carer's allowance. In the same period, the employee's tax credit increased by €1,100. There was no careful balancing of the needs of different family structures and needs. There was a complete blindness to this family unit, which is common among young people. As the figures about which I spoke show, they will inevitably face this huge pressure if they have one or two children. We must devise ways to deal with these pressure points in the family cycle. It is the same as in the later stages when trying to care for older people who perhaps need institutional care. We need to devise ways to accommodate them.

The Minister quoted glowingly an OECD report to show that one earner families are uniquely well placed in Ireland because they receive more in social benefits than they pay in tax. Let us not forget that compared to any other European country, we are in the ha'penny place when it comes to the provision of child care and support for families with medical costs. The means test figure for the medical card is below the minium wage. One must earn below the minimum wage for one's family to be considered worthy of support with health expenses. There is virtually no support in respect of child care costs, other than the figure of €1,000 for which the Minister provided. We are not treating one earner families on an equitable basis in any way. The Minister is living in a completely separate universe if he believes statistics produced by the OECD prove we are far-seeing in the way we support young families. That is definitely not the case.

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