Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to start by expressing the admiration that, l am sure, all Members of this House have for family carers. Every day, tens of thousands of people provide care for parents, children, partners, family members and others. They come from various different walks of life and began their caring responsibilities at different stages of their lives. It is only right that we recognise the value and contribution made by family carers in the healthcare system.

Supports for the carers of people are also vital as, in many ways, the needs of the carer are interlinked with the cared-for person. Respite care is particularly important as it enables carers to take up or to maintain work, education, leisure and training opportunities or just time for themselves. This year alone, the HSE’s disability service budget of €1.9 billion will provide 8,568 residential places, 22,272 day places, 182,506 respite overnight stays, 32,662 day respite sessions, 1.63 million personal assistant hours for 2,535 people, and 3.08 million home support hours for 8,094 people.

In older persons’ services, €446 million will be spent on the delivery of 18.2 million hours of care through home support and intensive home care packages. The development of a new, stand-alone statutory scheme and system of regulation for home support services is a long-standing objective of the Government. This is currently progressing in line with the Sláintecare implementation strategy. The new scheme will improve access to adult home support services that people need in an equitable, affordable and sustainable way. It will be designed to support carers and will complement and integrate effectively with other health and social care services.

Promoting a better awareness and understanding of the contribution of carers and their needs is also crucial to ensuring that we develop the right kinds of services to support carers within and outside of their caring role. The annual carer’s forum is a key success of the national carers' strategy, which enables policymakers to meet with family carers and to hear their concerns.

The HSE also provides funding to groups which offer support and information to carers and family members. In addition, the HSE has provided support for the establishment of mental health engagement fora, which offer an opportunity for carers and family members to have a say.

There have been a range of improvements made to financial supports for carers in the past number of years. When a carer’s full-time role comes to an end, either as a result of bereavement or the permanent admission of the care recipient to a residential care setting, carer’s allowance continues to be paid for a period of 12 weeks, doubling the previous length of continued payment. This measure offers a period of financial certainty during a time of personal upheaval at the end of the caring role.

Since June 2017, all children in receipt of a domiciliary care allowance are eligible for a medical card without a means test. Since September 2018, free GP visit cards have been extended to persons in receipt of the carer’s allowance or carer’s benefit, at both full and half rates. This will ensure that carers themselves are supported to protect their own physical, mental and emotional well-being.

The recent annual increases in carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit this year highlight the Government’s commitment to maintain financial supports for carers.

The Government considers that while many parts of the motion are valid in principle, it is not possible to offer full support. The motion would have a significant impact and the Government must manage its budget in a prudent manner. Increasing the income disregard for carer’s allowance from €332.50 to €450 for a single person and €665 to €900 for a couple would cost the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection approximately €73 million.

The conditions attached to payment of carer’s allowance are consistent with the overall conditions that apply to social assistance payments generally. This system of social assistance support provides payments based on an income need with the means test playing the critical role in determining whether an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency - be it illness, disability, unemployment or caring.

While the measures outlined illustrate the significant progress made to date in implementing the carers' strategy, I am aware that we can do more to meet the needs of carers and foster a climate in which they feel valued and supported to continue in their caring roles. As mentioned, the 2012 national carers’ strategy remains relevant and the policy direction is still valid. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, does not believe that a new carers’ strategy is therefore the best way forward, rather we should intensify our efforts to realise the objectives of the strategy.

The Minister has asked officials in the Department of Health to continue to engage with all relevant Departments and Government agencies to build opportunities to strengthen the implementation of the strategy to ensure that we keep the needs of carers to the fore as we prepare for the 2020 Estimates process.

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