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

I was delighted to meet Vicky and Fiona from Family Carers Ireland before the budget and we spoke at length about the importance of family carers and how under-appreciated they are. As the Minister knows, unpaid family carers save the State about €20 billion per year, or the equivalent of a second HSE, a point that is timely given the statements taken earlier in the House. Before I became a Deputy, I was a family carer. The carer's allowance has now increased for the second time since 2008, as the Minister noted, and I welcome that, but the allowance increased by 250% over the previous eight years, so we still have some way to go. While a €12 increase in weekly social payments may provide some relief to those receiving the carer's allowance or the carer's benefit, it falls short of Family Carers Ireland's call for both payments to be increased to €325. This increase would acknowledge the substantial and unavoidable expenses that family carers encounter.

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