Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)

Earlier this week, my party leader, Deputy Cairns, asked a very simple question. In what other profession in this country are people subjected to a means test, just to be recognised for the work they do? It is a stark question that gets to the heart of the matter. That is what this is about. Carers are professionals in every sense of the word. They do the work that is essential to the running of our health system, work that saves this State over €20 billion every single year, yet they are treated as though their contribution is somehow lesser and that they should be judged before they are asked to serve. It is an old adage at this point but politics at its very heart is about choices. Next week, we get to see the choices of this Government. The Minister has said there is very little between us in the sense that all of us are seeking to remove the means test for carers. However, time is the difference. A means test that is phased out over the next four years is four more years of carers having to justify their poverty, with some having to stand beside and be based on the income of a partner and others simply having to miss out because their means are just a little bit too high, even though the contribution they give is far more.

The motion we bring today is simply about a choice. It is a recognition that we can abolish the means test for carers in this budgetary cycle to take away the strain, stress and anxiety for anyone who has to justify their means before they can contribute in the manner that they do. The facts speak for themselves about the Government's choices. According to Family Carers Ireland, two thirds of carers experience financial distress. Almost half say they have to cut back on essentials like heating and food to make ends meet. Many are caring around the clock, with no pension, no security and often in total isolation. On top of that, they are put through an intrusive and bureaucratic process that judges them not on the care they provide but on their household income or that of their spouse. It does not make sense. In what world is it acceptable to make the lives of carers, people who are already stretched beyond breaking point, even harder?

The Minister told us that abolishing the means test is too complicated and that there are other pressures. When we talked about tripling the banking levy, he talked about how we also have to care for lone parents, children experiencing poverty and people with disabilities. We do not need to pit vulnerable groups against other vulnerable groups. There are other ways. We are talking about the bank levy. We do not need to talk about people with disabilities. The Social Democrats' fully costed budget tomorrow will include measures for people with disabilities, to remove 40,000 children out of poverty and to abolish the means test for carers. There are choices. Tonight's vote, which the Government is not allowing us to have, would have come down to the choices the Minister is making for family carers.

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