Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her detailed response. Part of the problem is a lack of clarity among the public with regard to how claims may be handled in certain offices of the Department of Social Protection. I have detected a pattern in recent times whereby once the issue of habitual residency is put forward an official may - this is not always the case - suggest there is little point in making an application because it would not be considered. Will the Minister of State clarify this? What I discern from what she stated is that perhaps there is an amount of flexibility or misunderstanding with regard to how the process works.

The Minister of State mentioned that a person who had previously been habitually resident in the State and had moved to live and work in another country and then resumed his or her long-term residency in the State may be regarded as being habitually resident immediately on his or her return to the State. This is probably an acknowledgement that in the case of an application for carer's allowance by an Irish national, an amount of discretion may be applied by the Department of Social Protection in its consideration. It is important, and it is a stated objective of the Government, that we support carers at every level of society. The Minister of State outlined the approximately €500 million expended by the State on carer's allowance and half-rate carer's allowance. This is a very important support.

As the Minister of State outlined, a small number of people are affected. In 2011, 13,888 applications for carers allowance were processed and 1.6% of these were refused on the basis of habitual residency and only 42 were Irish nationals. A good job of work could be done to clarify the situation for returning emigrants who wish to apply for carer's allowance to take care of a mother, father, aunt or uncle. There appears to be an amount of confusion. This discussion has clarified it and I encourage returning emigrants who are here to support family members to go down the route of applying for a carer's allowance, provide all of the necessary evidence and have a discussion with Department of Social Protection staff to ensure the application is processed and progressed properly.

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