Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

First, I commend the Social Democrats on bringing forward this motion. Family carers are a vital part of the health service in this country and they are not recognised or respected for the work they do. We all know from experience that the healthcare service provided by the HSE is in crisis. The home care service across the country cannot get staff and we are in a situation where thousands of people have been allocated home care hours by the HSE but they are not receiving it because there is simply no staff to provide the care. There is little effort being made to recruit that staff in my experience.

Just imagine if we did not have the countless number of people - mainly women - who are providing the care to family, friends and neighbours. The HSE would collapse altogether. Yet, these family carers have to struggle from week to week because the Government refuses to recognise the work they do and pay them for the vital service they provide. There are many people providing care for loved ones who are not receiving any payment, and they are doing this work seven days a week with no respite or no possibility of respite. If they have accumulated money or assets over the years that puts them outside the threshold for the means test, they simply get nothing. When they look at what they should be entitled to, the Government's answer to them is: "You are doing a great job, providing great care and saving the State millions but we are not going to give you anything. You should spend your own money. You should sell your assets and live off it." What is that? Is that respect for carers? I do not think so and nobody thinks so. The Government should abolish the means test for carer's allowance and increase the payment as an absolute priority.

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