Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the shadow of the looming budget, I refer to the importance of putting carers at the heart of it. As the Taoiseach knows, family carers save the State approximately €20 billion a year, which is the equivalent of a second HSE. In my constituency of Clare, some 6% of the population, or more than 8,200 people, provide unpaid care. In addition, the number of Clare people providing over 43 hours of unpaid care a week more than doubled in the last census. These are good people providing round-the-clock care to friends and family members. I encourage the Taoiseach to use budget 2024 to introduce a suite of meaningful measures to assist carers, such as phasing out the means test, extending eligibility for the fuel allowance, introducing a statutory disregard for carers on local authority rents and increasing payments. I ask that carers not be left out in the cold in budget 2024. They are the backbone of this country.

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