Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like everybody else, we come here every time asking, "Why, why, why?" The motion deals with carers this evening and it was home helps yesterday evening. There seems to be an ongoing situation involving these improvements that should happen but are not happening. As has been pointed out, carers save the State billions of euro. Carers should not have to go down this road as they are saving the State money. One in ten people provide care for a loved one. Fianna Fáil was involved in bringing in the carer's allowance, carer's benefit and respite care grant, which is now the carer's support grant. Fianna Fáil made changes to the social welfare system in order half-rate carer's allowance could be paid. All these measures were implemented probably when times were not as good. While we acknowledge there are strains on finances and we do not know what will happen with Brexit, the Government must look after people in these circumstances. They are saving the State a lot of money and doing a lot of work that would otherwise have to be done by the State. We should realise one thing about carers today. Many years ago, the local doctor called to houses to look after older people and advise families about them. This practice has disappeared. That is the way things go so this is all the more reason more supports, training and assistance should be introduced for carers and there should be further change to the social welfare system so that we make it easy for carers to take up this work and do it. Like everybody else, we want these changes to happen.

In respect of the case referred to by Deputy Penrose, those people are from my own parish. He is correct. They are from my parish and I know them very well. The Deputy made his case here passionately. I can tell him their daughter was stressed after being asked for a valuation of their house in England. The same happened with another lady in my parish. We have significant difficulty with that case. She was asked questions about bringing her sister-in-law home from England when she realised she had Alzheimer's disease. She was put through the mill trying to get home care assistance for her sister-in-law.

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