Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy McAuliffe has rightly said, the grant will be paid out for 125,000 carers. The overall cost of this grant is expected to be in the region of €260 million. Very importantly, the Government is committed to enhance the State pension provision for carers who have spent more than 20 years of their lives caring. This is part of our response to the Government's Commission on Pensions, recognising that our long-term carers deserve support in that regard. We will see details of this coming forward over the coming months in advance of the budget. I thank Deputy McAuliffe for his continued support and advocacy for our carers. I want to let the Deputy and the House know that the Government continues to be very grateful for the work that carers do, and we will continue to support them and enhance the support we give them.

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