Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's discretion and thank him for it.

Most of us want to thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which is a vitally important one that urges us to acknowledge the immense, often unseen, contribution carers make to our society. Such care is effectively a shadow health service. It is high time we addressed the appalling treatment they receive from a system that seems blind to their worth, one that has left too many of them out in the cold. As this is the last speaking slot for many of us, I hope, following this motion today, we can all agree this is something that certainly needs to change.

Carers provide essential care and support to our loved ones, care that the State would otherwise be unable to offer at scale and with the same dedication. They care with dignity, selflessness and without expectation, yet they are continually excluded from fair financial support. There is no excuse for leaving these individuals to shoulder the heavy burden of caregiving alone. This motion calls on the Government to abolish the carer's allowance means test, one that is quite frankly outdated, inequitable and deeply unfair. It is also a test that excludes so many of those who need support the most. I can think of no logical reason to retain this test, which penalises people who are already asked to make so many sacrifices.

We are all knocking on doors at the moment. Undoubtedly, like me, every single night each of us meets a carer. As the door opens, once they tell us what they do, the expectation is that they will go on to tell us how they are being failed by the State. Only last week I had such a conversation with a person on the doorstep. I will call her Mary, because I do not have permission to use her first name. Her story is a reminder of just how broken our system is. Mary has been caring for her son, who has profound disabilities, for the better part of 20 years. Every day is a struggle to ensure he has the dignity, love and care he deserves. She administers his medication and assists him with his basic needs. She advocates for him tirelessly. Mary's husband works full time and he earns an income that disqualifies her from receiving the carer's allowance yet, as anyone familiar with the reality of family life knows, it is nowhere near enough to cover all their expenses and to provide for a family with a child who requires round-the-clock care.

Mary tells me that while her husband's income may look decent on paper, it is stretched thin by the cost of her son's care. Specialist appointments, adaptive equipment and transportation are not inexpensive. She often has to make the impossible choice between caring for her son's needs and her own health, well-being and most of the time her basic financial security. That is because an arbitrary means test judges a family's eligibility based on a single income and dismisses the complexity of their financial needs. We are forcing people like Mary into impossible situations and ignoring the real cost of caregiving, both financially and personally.

This Government claims it values carers, yet it tells people like Mary and others whom we all meet every single night that their time and devotion simply does not count. The Government's reluctance to abolish the means test outright is just one of the many ways it fails to recognise caregiving as real, valuable work. We know the value of carers' contributions, not just emotionally but financially as well. The economic contribution of carers in Ireland is estimated at hundreds of millions of euro annually. These are individuals who are saving the State a fortune, yet the State turns it back on them. It is an injustice that I and my colleagues across the Chamber are committed to correcting. The policy position of the Social Democrats is that we have called not just for the abolition of the means tests but for a comprehensive overhaul of the carer's allowance. Carers should not have to worry about thresholds, limits or eligibility criteria that do not recognise their unique and pressing needs.

What we need is a universal, non-means-tested carer's income and support that respects the contribution of every carer in Ireland regardless of his or her household income. This is about more than just money. When carers are excluded from support, it takes a mental and emotional toll. These are people who give everything they have to care for their loved ones, who put their own health and well-being second. They do not receive a day off or even a moment to themselves. When we exclude them from support, we are effectively saying to them that their sacrifices are invisible; that they do not matter to the State.

Carers deserve better than that. They deserve the respect and recognition they have been so long denied. They deserve respite, a chance to rest and time to care for themselves, even as they provide care to others. As it stands, the State does not offer carers a fair deal. There are those who spend decades providing care, only to find themselves excluded from a pension that recognises their contribution. Imagine spending 20 to 30 years looking after a loved one, only to reach old age with no financial security. That is the reality for too many carers, one we must seek to change.

The Social Democrats, taking inspiration from groups such as Family Carers Ireland, have proposed a number of reforms that would make a meaningful difference. These include the establishment of a statutory right to home care, the benchmarking and indexing of carer's payments and the expansion of the free travel scheme to those receiving the domiciliary care allowance. These reforms are not luxuries, they are necessities.

Let us also not overlook the critical role respite plays in sustaining the health and well-being of carers. Without regular and adequate respite, carers are at risk of burnout, physical injury and emotional strain. We meet them every single day. Every carer deserves the right to a life outside the caregiving role, to rest and to take time for him or herself without guilt or worry.

While we are on the topic of reform, we must also ensure the community and voluntary sector, in particular section 39 organisations, which provide an invaluable service to carers and those they care for, receive the funding and support they need. The current disparity in pay and conditions for this sector creates a recruitment and retention crisis, leaving families like Mary's without access to essential services. Not having a fair and sustainable funding model leaves carers even more isolated.

This motion is simply about respect. It is about saying to carers that we see them, we value them, and we are committed to supporting them. For too long, the State has treated caregiving as an afterthought, something less important than paid employment, but we know better. We know that caring for another human being is one of the most difficult, demanding and selfless jobs.

As we part, I say to the Government that it is time to stop delaying and deflecting and to start delivering for carers. In the next government we must commit ourselves across the Chamber to abolishing the means test, establishing a fair non-means-tested carer's income support and to the creation of a system that honours the contribution of every carer in this country.

To the carers across Ireland who are looking in today, as many did to the Family Carer's Ireland event yesterday, we owe you a simple thanks for the work you do on behalf of this State, much of which is not recognised.

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