Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

This motion is full of very detailed, researched information on carers and their lives in Ireland. I will highlight the most important figure in the motion, that is, the €20 billion saved by the State through the 1 billion hours of unpaid care that takes place in families throughout the country each year. Successive Governments have long relied on the unpaid work of hundreds of thousands of people to cover for the fact they have not put nearly enough funding, resources or supports into the social care system in this country. Between 2000 and 2008, the income disregard for the carer's allowance rose by 250%. Between 2008 and 2021, it rose by 0%, because the current and successive Governments led by the Government's parties knew they could rely on hundreds of thousands of people doing unpaid work with little State support, because they had to. I recognise the fact that the Minister raised the income disregard in the 2022 budget, but we have to move that forward in the coming period.

It is well past time we stopped allowing ordinary people who are often juggling work or education, or a whole host of other commitments, to plug the gaps left by failings in Government policies. Not only have carers been allowed to fill in the inadequacies of the State, they and those they care for have been allowed to continue in deteriorating situations. Four in ten disabled people live in enforced deprivation and carers are considered a group at risk of poverty. In 2022, Family Carers Ireland found that 68% of carers were experiencing financial distress. The current income disregards for the carer's allowance are totally unfit for purpose and well out of the reach of those on an average industrial income. According to the motion, a family caring for a child with a profound intellectual disability has an additional €244 in costs, compared to those without, and the additional costs of caring can be up by €175, even at the most basic level. However, full-time carers are supposed to live on a weekly allowance of €236 and a minimum of 18.5 hours of work, if they can even find the time. This is all in the face of the rising cost of living, inflation, a rise in rents and mortgage and energy price increases. The current system leaves many with little or not help at all.

The issue is not one that affects all people equally. Some 77% of people receiving the carer's allowance are women. We know there is already gender bias in our care system. The bias is reinforced under the current scheme, not only socially, but materially. This has been recognised by the citizens' assembly and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality and both have highlighted the dire need for reform. We know women are more likely to be part of other groups at risk of poverty and marginalisation. The majority of low-paid workers and lone parents are women. There are a whole host of intersecting groups in which women are overrepresented and overly exposed to problems such as poverty and deprivation.

The Government has committed to bringing forward three referendums on gender equality. Here are the reforms that would not only challenge social gender inequality, but the material basis for that inequality. Statistics from the Department of Health from 2018 suggest approximately 67,000 children between the ages of ten to 17 carry out unpaid care work in this country. In a failing system, this is a clear detriment to their education and wellbeing. How can we rely on children as young as ten to help fill a €20 billion hole of Government inaction? We need to make sure that any children suffering from the failings of the current system are provided with proper supports, assistance and opportunities. In 2019, the ESRI found that unmet care needs are especially pronounced for low-income households. Low-income and working-class people and families cannot afford private help and the current system offers them little or no help. We know a family need for a carer affects employment and education and it is worse for those already experiencing deprivation or poverty.

I thank Deputy Harkin for bringing forward the motion, which I support. The current system is clearly not fit for purpose. We need much greater reform than what the Government has been offering with regard to social welfare, gender equality and the care system. This is a practical, easy and costed step in the right direction of real and desperately-needed social welfare reform in this country.

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