Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I do not propose to accept this amendment. One of the fundamental qualifying conditions for carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant is that the person is providing full-time care and attention to a person who needs such care. The number of hours a person may engage in employment, self-employment, training or education outside the home and still be considered to be providing full-time care and attention for the purposes of the schemes was increased from ten to 15 hours per week in June 2006. It is worth noting that the 15 hour rule represents a relaxation of the full-time care and attention requirement. A further increase to the number of hours which a person can work and still qualify of payment would dilute the full-time care and attention requirement.

In 2005 the carer's allowance scheme was extended to accommodate care sharing situations. Under these arrangements it is possible for week on, week off care sharing arrangements to be facilitated. This means that where two carers are providing care to the same person on alternative weeks, the carer's allowance and the annual respite care grant can be split between them.

It would not be possible for the Department to establish the number of people currently receiving care at home who would otherwise need nursing home care. The Minister will keep the supports for carers available from his Department under review in order to continue to improve the schemes and ensure that commitments on income support are delivered.

According to Census 2006 there are approximately 50,000 people providing care for more than 29 hours per week, that is, just over four hours per day. Approximately 19,600 of these are classified by principal economic status as being at work. At present there are over 34,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance and carer's benefit. A total of 42,000 also received a respite care grant for 2007.

Census 2006 does not give information regarding the number of hours worked by people in employment. However, a significant proportion of the 19,600 people classified as at work would be working more than 15 hours per week and, as such, they would not satisfy the full-time care and attention requirement for carer's allowance, carer's benefit or the respite care grant.

In summary, according to the census, 15,000 people care for people for more than four hours per day. In 2008, it is expected that approximately 39,000 people will be in receipt of carer's allowance and 2,000 in receipt of carer's benefit. Weekly payments will, therefore, be made to 41,000 people who provide full-time care and 8,000 people who do not get either the carer's allowance or the carer's benefit will get respite care grants.