Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

You took ¤850 a year. You have amnesia. When I was made redundant in 1997, I worked for over 18 months with the Carers Association on a FÁS scheme. I was not on the big wages that many charities CEOs receive of ¤100,000 or ¤200,000. I worked on a FÁS scheme. There are many Members who have cared for loved ones down the years.

We do not need any lectures from people on the other side about what carers should and should not be doing. I could name six or seven people in this House, some on this side, who have looked after people with disabilities or who are old and infirm. This is a difficult time for the Government. This is a difficult budget. There are parts of this Bill which many people, including the Minister, find difficult to stomach but hard decisions have to be made. This Government is committed to getting the country back on its feet economically to the point where it can in such situations provide more money. In 2006, at the height of the boom, the respite care grant was much less than ¤1,375. Nobody wants to take these hard decisions but hard decisions have to be made in a budget and in a Social Welfare Bill. I and my colleagues will support the provisions in the Bill in the hope that when things improve, as they will, although some people here might not want them to, we can rectify this situation for the respite care grant.