Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)

It is my first time seeing the Minister of State sitting on the Front Bench. I congratulate her. She is a fine representative for Carlow and it is great to see her in the elevated office of Minister of State.

I will make a few comments as part of this debate. I am glad that the programme for Government includes as a priority the abolition of the means test for carers. It is only right. It is shameful that it has taken this long for it to happen. However, I will make the point that there are currently 100,000 people in this country availing of carer's allowance. It is costing the Exchequer €1.24 billion per annum. Abolishing the means test will, of course, allow more people to qualify for the payment. It will cost the Exchequer an estimated €3 billion per annum. I note that the programme for Government states that the means test will be incrementally wound back across the five years of the Government's term. It should be brought forward and front-loaded to the Government's first budget in October 2025. We are going to be reducing the VAT rate on food and beverages in the autumn. That is very important but it is more important that we do this for carers. If we are going to front-load the reduction in VAT, we should front-load the abolition of the means test for carer's allowance.

It should be done in the budget in the autumn, and I ask the Minister of State to fight for that.

I will speak about respite, as have others. Carers are at absolute burnout. They do not get breaks. The majority of them have never had respite and if we want someone to be cared for in a loving home environment, it is crucial that we look after the carer. Far too often, they are not looked after, and they quickly see their own health suffer. They are often of a similar age to the older person they are looking after. They may have health problems themselves and that all gets exacerbated the more entrenched they become in this care scenario without respite from the State.

I will speak about the home support service, which is more commonly known as home help. Some 98% of people who are home helps or home carers are women. We struggle to find people to work in this area even though it is hugely funded by the HSE. I suggest that we make an adjustment for the people who work in this area. Let us look at taxation. A lot of these people want to be at home to be able to do the school pick-up and school drop-off. During the day they should be able to work a considerable number of hours as a home help without being penalised by the taxman. Consideration of the taxation issue could free up a lot of people to work in this area.

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