Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Carers play a vital role in supporting those who need constant help. The contribution of carers to the economy has almost doubled since the level of that contribution was estimated at €2.5 billion in 2006. Carers engage in some 900,000 hours of caring every day. In financial terms, this amounts to €77 million per week. The overall amount involved in this regard is equivalent to one third of the total annual cost of the HSE, namely, €13.3 billion. The Government has slashed a vital support payment to carers which covered discretionary expenditure. A respite care grant of €1,700 is paid every year, usually on the first Thursday in June, for each person in care. This is not taxable. The grant will now be cut by €325 - a 20% reduction - to €1,375 per annum in order to save €26 million. Some 1,438 carers and their families in County Louth will be directly affected and left hurting by this cut.

In the past, Fine Gael and the Labour Party both issued statements in respect of the cutting of carer's allowance. In the context of budget 2011, the former stated:

Fine Gael believes we should support carers. It makes sense that carers are supported in the work they do because they save the taxpayer money in the long run. If carers are not supported they will experience physical, financial and emotional hardship and eventual burnout.

In the context of the same budget, the Labour Party stated: "The Government clearly places no value on the contribution carers make to this country". It seems that the stance of Fine Gael and the Labour Party on the importance of carers to society has changed. Fianna Fáil will fight to protect these carers and we demand that the cut to the respite care grant be reversed.

On the cut to child benefit, the great philosopher Plato once said: "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." In my view, this quote describes the actions of the Government. The right decision would be to reverse the cut to child benefit, but the Government has decided that children will be the victims. I understand that cuts must be made but there must be a better way to proceed in order that children, our future leaders, will not be affected. Reports indicate that the Government will break its pre-election promises and bluster around in respect of children's rights - only weeks after a referendum on that same issue - by unfairly targeting families with a cut of €10 per month in the standard rate of child benefit. The programme for Government states "We will maintain social welfare rates," and the Minister, Deputy Burton, recently reiterated her commitment to protect core rates. The definition of the word "core" obviously has no real meaning for the Government, however, particularly if it is determined to hit child benefit, which is an essential payment for hundreds of thousands of families.

Fianna Fáil supported families and mothers when in government and increased child benefit from €53.96 for the first child and €71.11 for third and subsequent children to €166 and €203, respectively, in the period from 2000 to 2010. The majority of these gains were maintained when the State's finances came under greater budgetary pressure. Our child benefit schemes are in place to encourage and support families in having children. Child benefit is a special recognition of the costs of rearing children and the universality of the payment has helped to ensure that children have been lifted out of poverty. The children's charity Barnardos has described the measures in the budget as "regressive, unfair and unsustainable" and stated that, despite the rhetoric on fairness from the Government, they disproportionately target low-income families. In the context of child benefit, the Labour Party document Labour's Manifesto for Children states:

- Despite our current economic problems, Ireland remains a very expensive place to raise a child, and child benefit is the only recognition by the State of this high cost.

- Cutting child benefit will create poverty traps, work disincentives, and will substantially increase the already high number of children in poverty.

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