David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is never too late to do the correct thing. It is the responsibility of the Minister and Government Senators to do the right thing by carers. I have received many e-mails from people who care for children, those with profound disabilities and older people. Some, although not all, are in receipt of a payment, but they genuinely depend on the respite care grant. They are distraught at the prospect of losing ¤325 a year which comes on top of all the other cuts which will impact on them. I am sure every Senator has received telephone calls on this issue. I work closely with the Carers Association in Waterford and know about the difficult, demanding but loving and caring job that caring is. People value what they do. They are looking after their spouse, mother or father or sons and daughters and people with profound disabilities. They look to the State to ensure they are properly protected, as they cannot defend themselves. They cannot go out to work. It is not by choice but the consequence of an accident, illness or disability that they must care for the person concerned. They do it because they love the person for whom they are caring, but they need support. I know the Minister knows that they need this support.

The Carers Association estimates that 77,000 carers receive the respite care grant. Of this number, about 5,000 do not receive any other payment whatsoever. It is also important to point to other provisions in the budget that will impact on carers: there is a 32% cut in the housing adaptation grants scheme to remediate houses to facilitate people with a disability; there is a threefold hike in prescription charges for medical card holders; there are changes to the drug repayment scheme and cuts to the household benefits package. We should also acknowledge that the previous Government cut the weekly rate of carer's allowance and the household benefits package, as did the Minister this year and last year. The financial supports for those with special dietary requirements have been cut also. All of these cuts impact on people with disabilities and their carers. Social Inclusion Ireland was very clear that this was a regressive move.

I wish to read an e-mail I received. It states:

As a mother of three children, one of whom has autism, I implore you to vote against this Bill. I have been at every protest mounted by the Carers Association since the publication of this budget. I have been at odds with many of my fellow carers because I felt it would take a supreme effort to get feet on the street and have strength in numbers. I can assure you that the low turnout was not due to apathy or laziness, it was because we had no one to hand over the reins to. There is no holiday or lunch time cover in the caring vocation. Plenty of overtime all right but all of it is unpaid. Before I became a mother to a son with autism, I was a granddaughter to a lady with dementia and I have cared in one capacity or another since I was ten years of age. I can assure you it was not my intended career path. I did not pursue a BA and H.Dip in order to become a carer. In fact I gave up my job only last year because the system was failing my son so badly that I had to give him my all.

The mother in question goes on to outline how this cut will impact on her. I have received many similar e-mails from carers.

I have a copy of the ESRI preliminary report on the budget which must make for very grim reading for the Labour Party. It points to the impact on people in various income brackets. Low income earners had their income reduced by over 1%.