Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

However, the changes in last week's budget should be seen in the context of the huge progress made by recent Governments in supports for people with disabilities and carers. Between 1997 and 2009, the increases in the weekly rates of payment to people with disabilities and to carers were more than three times greater than the increase in the cost of living over that period. We have also greatly increased eligibility for these payments as a result of significant easing of the means tests, with much higher income disregards. In 2007, we introduced the half rate carer's allowance, which provides significant additional support for carers in receipt of social welfare payments.

The value of the respite care grant has been increased from €254 in 1997 to €1,700 in 2009 and it is paid to people who are not in receipt of carer's allowance or carer's benefit. In addition, improvements have been made in the additional supports that many people with disabilities and their carers receive, including the household benefits package of free television licence, electricity and telephone as well as free travel. As a result of these and other improvements, there has been a five-fold increase in expenditure on the disability allowance since 1997. Expenditure by the Department on supports for carers has increased fourteen-fold in the same period. While it has been necessary to reduce the value of the weekly income support payments to carers aged under 66 in this budget, the weekly rate of payment for the disability allowance and carer's allowance in 2010 will still be almost 20% higher than in 2006. The rate of carer's allowance paid to people aged over 66 was not cut at all in the Budget and neither was the respite care grant.