Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise an issue that Family Carers Ireland brought to my attention last week. It is possible that it will be addressed in the amendments on Report Stage this evening but in case it is not, I wanted to put this on the record. If it is not going to be addressed this evening, it may be possible to have it addressed in the Seanad. The carers say they welcome the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, which includes a number of important provisions for family carers. However, they are concerned with a particular aspect of Bill, which they have raised previously and had hoped would be rectified at this point.

That is why representatives from Family Carers Ireland are hopeful it might be addressed in the amendments this evening. Their concern relates to the specifications set out in the Bill regarding people for whom unpaid carer's leave days or flexible working can be applied for. They go on to list the various categories of person: the employees; the parent or adopted parent; the spouse or civil partner of the employee; a person to whom the employee is in loco parentis; the cohabitant of the employee; a parent or grandparent of the employee; a brother or sister of the employee; and a person other than one specified in any of the paragraphs (a) to (f), who live in the same household as the employee. Basically their concern is that the definition excludes applications in respect of care provided to non-relatives or other relatives who do not live in the same household. They feel it is at odds with carer's allowance and carer's benefit legislation and the Carer's Leave Act 2001, which allows a person to take carer's leave and receive a care-related payment for a neighbour, friend or relative including aunts, uncles and cousins. They argue that it is unusual that the legislation omits this and are wondering if it is some sort of oversight or a technical issue. They feel that they have been excluded. I am conscious of the time but I want to raise that matter with the Minister and hope he can look at it. As I said, he has tabled a number of amendments. Many of them are technical and might cover this. This came up on Committee Stage but if it is not covered, is there any way of looking at it before the Bill passes?

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