Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I request the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to discuss an urgent and specific matter of public interest, namely, concern by carers groups that their limited entitlements would be targeted in the forthcoming budget. Carers work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. There are approximately 150,000 carers across the country playing a vital role in community health care and it is estimated that in providing those services carers are saving the Exchequer in the region of €2 billion annually. They are performing a considerable service to their families, the community and to the country and it would be foolhardy in the extreme to tinker with their payments. I therefore request an urgent debate to discuss this serious matter.

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