Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A progressive social protection system is the equaliser that attempts to level the playing field. In real terms it is the difference between a life of poverty and drudgery and a life in which potential can be reached. It is a safety net for our citizens and a net too many people are now falling through. This Government's budget is a lost opportunity to enact a progressive social protection agenda. The Government's mean-spirited approach to the thousands of carers across the State is one example of a Government that is out of touch. We know that carers are at much higher risk of poverty, yet carers across the State have been told to wait until July 2025 before they even see the limited changes to the mean test. In my constituency of Mayo, I was recently contacted by a woman who said she had been caring for her intellectually disabled daughter for 36 years and she is not in receipt of carer's allowance. Her daughter had recently spent six weeks in hospital in Castlebar which involved a 50-mile round trip each day for her parents to visit her, not to mention the many medical appointments since then. This mother, and thousands more across the State, have had to give up the opportunity of working in paid employment to provide 24-7 care for her adult child. This social welfare Bill offers little solace to parents such as these. They rightly feel they are penalised financially for doing the State a service. They are the ones who worry at night about what the future will bring for their vulnerable loved ones. Sinn Féin knows the value of carers. That is why we would invest in carers by scrapping the means test entirely over one term of Government.

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