Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is maith liom go bhfuil mé ag fáil deise labhairt ar an Bhille seo anocht, mar ní raibh dóthain ama againn aréir le go bhfuighinn isteach air. Is cinnte go bhfuil muid ag plé an Bhille is tábhachtaí a phlé muid i saol an tSeanaid seo. B'fhéidir go bhfuil muid tagtha ag an pointe is tábhachtaí sa Bhille sin, mar is cinnte i mbéal an phobail gur í an gearradh atá á dhéanamh ar na cúramóirí an gearradh is mó atá ag tarraingt cainte agus atá ag déanamh imní do dhaoine. Is é an gearradh is mó ar a bhfuil na meáin ag tabhairt airde. Is léir sin ón aird atá á tabhairt acu orainn inniu, seachas laethanta eile. Is é an gearradh is mó é freisin do na daoine atá ag scríobh chugainn. Táim tar éis a bheith ag cuid mhaith cruinnithe poiblí le seachtain anuas agus nílim ag iarraidh mo ghlór fein a chur chun cinn ag an bpointe seo, ach glórtha na daoine a labhair liom.

I attended a number of public meetings during the week and was asked to convey a message to the Minister and her colleagues by people who are carers or who are in receipt of the respite care grant. A young man in Longford who has a disability asked me not to take away his mother's carer's grant because she cannot cope without it. Another mother at that meeting whose child needs special shoes that cost ¤460 was going to use the extra money in the respite care grant to buy the shoes but she will not have the money to buy them. I have a note from a parent of a special needs child who asked me to relay this message:

The respite care grant is not used for a jolly holiday or anything of the sort. The respite care grant is used throughout the year to pay for therapies my son sorely needs which are not available publicly, among other things, essential to providing my son with the best chance he has of not being a burden to the State in the future in the form of residential care. This minuscule saving to the State coffers will ultimately cost the Exchequer infinitely more in years to come.

I have one other note which states:

I am a carer to a nine year old boy who has autism. The recent budget has hit us very hard, we were already just getting by, I have no idea how we will survive financially. The huge cut to the respite care grant, just has me in tears, I use that money to keep my car on the road and oil in the tank (my son has mobility issues, so a car is a necessity). I didn't want to be a carer, but that is where I have found myself due to my son's disability, and there's no better person for the job than me his mother, I love my son dearly and just want what is best for his future, it would be nice though to have a little support from our Government to help me do my job, instead of being made feel like a scrounger. I worked Full-time for as long as I could but had no option but to give up my job and become my son's carer.

The debate around this issue has forgotten the people it is supposed to be about. We are discussing a cut to the respite care grant but we have forgotten the carers. The politics has taken over. I have the greatest respect for all my fellow Senators and all the contributions made today but I hope we do not forget the carers in the debate.

We had an interesting debate on the JobBridge scheme where the Minister told me about her expertise in accountancy and in business. However, I do not accept that she could not find another way of getting ¤26 million in order that this cut would not have to go through. I accept this is not her decision and that she has been put under constraints due to the economic situation and the Government situation. She was given a budget to disburse through the Government. There are responsibilities specifically in respect of the respite care grant. Senator Ó Murchú put it more eloquently than me when he said we should not make the respite carers the fodder in this political battle, if it is a political battle. I think the Minister would have it within her remit to go back and try to find the ¤26 million elsewhere. If that cannot be done, I find it hard to believe the Government cannot find within the coffers ¤26 million to ensure this cut does not go ahead.

We have put forward proposals, one of which is a wealth tax. If the Minister was to accept it, at the lowest possible scenario it would more than cover four or five of the cuts in the Social Welfare Bill. Therefore, there are options. I do not believe that a person of the Minister's calibre and expertise in business and accountancy could not find that ¤26 million. If the Minister cannot find it within her wont, there is a choice to be made by Senators on the Government side. They have heard all the arguments and have to choose. Senators have made some brave decisions. I commend those decisions being made. Senators have to vote with their conscience and, therefore, have to vote against this section of the Bill because it is unfair on carers.

This will be a seminal moment in the life of the Seanad. I know the eyes of the nation and the media, in particular, are on us. The vote on this section and the vote on the Bill today will be a moment of truth as to whether the Seanad is up to standing up for what is right. It is not about being political, it is about not putting the respite care grant in jeopardy and not making carers pay for the decisions that will be made. If the Minister were to reverse the ¤26 million cut I would call on Sinn Féin members not to jump up and down making political hay on this issue because it is simply the wrong cut. I call on her to intimate to us that she will withdraw it because that would take the pressure off some of her Labour Party Members who have been put under awful pressure on this issue. Most of all it would give relief to those carers who asked me to bring their story to the Minister.