Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

Neither do we, although we have lots of rushes.

I wish to dwell on the carer's respite care grant. I am pleased to note that the Minister has yet again increased this grant. While the Minister has had more experience of dealing with the families of carers than me, I know of a family in my home town with two severely handicapped children struck down by a rare disorder. The local community voted the parents of these children people of the year last year. If ever there were saints on earth, these people are certainly saintly. The family gets great support from the community and they welcomed the provisions contained in the budget. The increase is to €250 for a single person and to €500 for a couple. Concerns have been expressed about the respite grant. I hope the Minister takes account of the need and value that is placed on this grant. When she fights for funds later in the year, I hope she continues to fight for increased funding in this area.

If my memory serves me right, Senator Cox was on the battlements a couple of years ago over the question of means tests for carers. The debate centred on whether the Government should abolish means tests for carers. The financial implication of abolishing the means tests was the main obstacle. While there is no means testing for child benefit, one could argue, perhaps even with greater justification, for the introduction of it. Despite my earlier comments on how essential the increases in child benefit were to my family, my wife and I have discussed this and we feel we could accept the introduction of means tested child benefit. We believe it would help those less fortunate than ourselves and less able to cope financially. Carers have to give commitments that are far beyond the call of duty. The commitment is borne as much out of love and affection as it is out of obligation. The Government should have a soft side. It should say it cherishes carers, ensure money is not a problem and dispense with the means test. I have made this case in the past and I know the Minister is aware of the difficulties facing carers. This care is reflected in the increases introduced this year.

I welcome the manner in which the Minister moved so quickly to respond to the current postal dispute. I have no doubt that when social welfare recipients, particularly those on the lower socio-economic level, saw the dispute escalating over the weekend, they must have been horrified at the prospects of a nationwide dispute and feared their payments would be denied. The Minister used the media and moved quickly to reassure social welfare recipients their weekly or monthly allowances would not be denied.

I am glad of the opportunity to compliment the Minister on the provisions contained in the social welfare budget. I look forward to hearing her rebut some of the criticisms that have been made of it. We have found that some of the earlier criticisms were inaccurate and I hope the Minister has an answer for the criticisms that have been made more recently.