Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am strongly in favour of this amendment and the review of care-related payments. Care is the lifeblood of society and without it the economy and society would not function. All too often it becomes somewhat invisible and it is not given the full acknowledgement that it should. I have long pressed not only for the homemaker scheme to be addressed, as we have discussed before and will again today I am sure, but for a care credit and how we can move towards a modern social protection system recognising the contribution of care. Mr. Peter Moss, who spoke on this matter before, said very eloquently that care always costs but the question is to whom the cost is levied. Does it cost the time, energy and life of somebody contributing to care or does it cost the State? Care is always a requirement.

The question is how to better ensure the cost of care is managed. We have had some progress with that in areas such as child care, for example. I very much hope we will see progress in areas like home care and respite care, which give relief, so we can share the challenges and tasks involved with care, as they currently fall heavily on families. This is all part of the picture of recognising the importance of care and seeing how we can better support and contribute to it. There is also the question of payments and financial recognition of the needs and contribution of carers. We could look to the carer support grant area.

It is yet another gap in the pension system, unfortunately, as many of those who are carers fall out of the system. If they have not been contributing or making PRSI contributions for a period before becoming carers, people will not necessarily have contributions made automatically on their behalf. There is a gap, for example, with those who travel abroad and come home to become carers. They fall through the system in different ways. There are a number of scenarios in which people who give their time and life to care can sometimes fall through the system. They can find themselves suffering great hardship when they are caring and penalised when they come to a point of retirement.

There are a few matters to be looked at and this is a really good opportunity for that. I hope the Minister will be able to accept or in some way accommodate us in looking more deeply at the question of care, as sought by Senator Ardagh.