Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, I invited carers and their representative groups to visit Leinster House to explain to Deputies and Senators from all political parties how vital the respite care grant was to families affected by disability. The DCA Warriors, the Special Needs Parents Association and Aoibheann's Pink Tie, all of which are voluntary groups that do outstanding work, attended. Alongside the Carers Association and Inclusion Ireland, they gave powerful, heart-wrenching accounts of the hardships caused by the Government's 19% cut to the grant in budget 2013. That cut of €325 has meant that entire households are going without heating, children are going without therapies and special equipment, families are going deeper into debt and basic items such as shoes and schoolbags cannot be afforded. The cut extinguished any meaningful chance of respite for those families. It also had a demoralising effect on this already fragile group. As one carer put it, a savage cut of such a disproportionate size in respect of families with special needs was degrading and made many feel worthless.

Budget 2015 was supposed to herald the end of austerity, but the family carers have been provided with no relief. Will the Tánaiste please reflect on what I am telling her and on the testimony given by carers in the AV room yesterday and use the upcoming Social Welfare Bill to restore the €325 to the respite care grant? The wider Irish public wants the Government to give carers some relief. A petition issued during the week received 2,000 signatures within 24 hours and a lot more since. I urge the Tánaiste to take the time to read the testimony that is attached to some of those signatures. It would be appropriate of her to do so while reflecting on the Bill in the coming weeks.

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