Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is 50 years since I first advocated for the abolition of the means test for carer's allowance. It would be administratively simple. Millionaires will look after people without claiming it but it will suit people who are only €10 over the limit and all that nonsense. There is something wrong. Some 116,000 people are eligible for the carers' support grant. Only 81,000 are in receipt of the carer's allowance. That means 35,000 are only tipping around the margins. They must be brought into the carer's allowance scheme immediately. We have to tackle this once and for all. To be fair, the Minister is correct that we have had this on the cheap and we have collectively been skinflints. We have abused carers and given them 90 cent an hour. There is talk of a minimum wage. We have abused them. Let us be honest because most of them work 15 hours a day, 105 hours a week. They are being given 18.5 hours to do a bit of paid work, effectively to qualify them for pensions down the road or to get an education qualification. That is what this is about.

We have had their care on the cheap and abused them. It is time to stop the abuse. I think the Minister recognises that better than anyone.

See this speech in context