Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As already mentioned, and as the Minister will be aware, carers do fantastic work. There is no doubt about that. I believe that every Deputy in the House would agree with that statement. Carers save the State €20 billion every year, in addition to the fantastic work they do. Family Carers Ireland support some 500,000 carers across the State. That is not enough, however, in the context of supports. That organisation is fantastic. I attended the launch of their Heart of Gold campaign last Thursday. We need more support from the Government for carers. For example, will the means test be abolished? It is unfair that the means test is set up in such a way for carers. Will it be abolished or will the income threshold for carers' allowance be increased? These are practical measures the Government could take to help carers and support them into the future.

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