Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to see Senator Flynn in the Chair and wish her all the best in her role. I thank the Minister of State for coming this morning. I call for an examination of the earnings of carers, whether family carers, informal carers or carers in general, and social protection for them. Carers have prevailed in the most difficult circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic. We all have to compliment and acknowledge the work they have done during the pandemic. The Government has referred to carers as the backbone of care provision. The national carers strategy from 2012 states that we must consider carers as key care partners.

Social protection payments for carers fall into five categories. The carer's allowance is means-tested and is for people on low incomes who are caring for an incapacitated person. Half-rate carer's allowance is payable with other social welfare payments. Carer's benefit is a social insurance payment made to someone who gives up work to care for somebody who needs it. The carer's support grant is a cash payment to carers. It used to be called the respite grant. Domiciliary care allowance is a monthly payment.

I pay tribute to Family Carers Ireland, which is based in Limerick, where I am from, because it has provided so much support for carers' health, well-being and quality of life over the years. One of its findings was that 70% of carers find it hard to make ends meet. It found that 21% of carers struggle financially and have cut back on essentials such as groceries and heating to make ends meet; 29% of carers live in households with a total income of less than €20,000 per year; 57% of carers have experienced or are likely to experience debt as a result of caring; and 39% of the respondents said their financial situation had deteriorated over the last year. Compared with the general population, family carers were more likely to report themselves as living in households with a gross income of less than €20,000. The highest rate of carer's allowance for an individual is €385. That applies where someone caring for two people, which equates to a rate of €9.64 per hour. There are various other rates. They are all below the national minimum wage, which is €10.20 per hour. Carer's benefit for caring for more than one person is €330 which, in a 44.6-hour week, equates to €8.25 per hour.

The reality is that carers, especially home carers, provide 24-7 care for 365 days of the year. It is believed they help to keep people out of hospital. There are approximately 500,000 carers in Ireland. It is reckoned that, including home carers, the State saves €20 billion, which is a huge amount of money. In addition, 19 million unpaid hours a week are provided to people who need care. Before Covid, thousands of family carers across Ireland were experiencing financial difficulty. The pandemic has made an already difficult situation much worse. We must begin to give carers the respect and recognition they deserve. We must examine their rates of pay and the benefits they are entitled to, because they are providing the State with substantial savings. The fact that they are caring for loved ones at home is beneficial and helps the longevity of people who are being cared for. Carers must be paid for the work they do.