Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I agree with what the Deputy is saying. I hope the final outcome will represent a significant improvement. In many cases, the status and eligibility of the claim, and the way it is presented, mean it is highly likely that carer's allowance will be awarded. If we can move to a system whereby the claim is complete when the application is first made, it will be possible for much clearer and faster decisions to be made. Claims that are complete and therefore highly likely to be awarded, in the particular family or individual circumstances that arise with regard to caring, should be facilitated. As in many areas of social protection, in this area there has been a substantial increase in the volume of applications and in the complexity of some of them. The staff of the Department of Social Protection have a good record of responding to changes in the volume and type of applications. I am confident that by the end of June, when we have completed our transition to the new system, there will be a significant improvement in this regard. I appreciate what the Deputy has said about the importance of the carer's allowance. For that reason, I did my best to maintain carer's allowance payments, along with payments to pensioners, in the recent budget.

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