Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome Senator Clonan and his family to the House. I sincerely thank him for his work on the Defence Forces, in particular, over recent years. It is going to be very important in this House as we get to debate, we hope, the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which we have been promised for a few weeks. I thank Senator Clonan for his work on that. I look forward to working with him on it. I also thank the Senator for his work on disability matters.

It is with that that I raise the issue of the Family Carers Ireland report that was published yesterday, entitled Care at Home - Costs of Care Arising from Disability. The report found the minimum essential standard of living cost for a two-parent household caring for an adolescent with a profound intellectual disability is €244 per week higher than for a family of a similar size with an adolescent without those additional needs. It is very worrying indeed.

Another issue raised in the report was the cost of adapting a house. I raised the issue last week in a Commencement matter with the Minister of State only to be told the review is still ongoing. I am dealing with a number of families who need their houses adapted to look after their loved ones at home. Unfortunately, they cannot do it at the moment, considering the amount that is allowed under the grant. I ask again that the review be carried out a lot quicker than is happening at the moment. All these people want to do is to look after their loved ones in their homes. At the moment, unfortunately, they are not in a position to do so with the limits on this particular grant.

It is as Catherine Cox, the head of communications and policy at Family Carers Ireland, stated:

With everything they have contributed throughout the pandemic, it is simply wrong that family carers are now left struggling to put food on the table or heat their homes. They deserve so much better.

To ensure family carers are supported during this extremely difficult time, we are calling on the Government to provide additional and targeted financial support for family carers, particularly for those on the lowest incomes.

Perhaps we could have a debate with the Minister on carers. I know we had one last year, but it is timely that we look for a similar debate again as quickly as possible, given that particular report.

I also welcome the recent announcement of the Government on the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill. Senator Byrne and I have introduced similar Bills on CCTV cameras. This weekend, my local community will have a clean-up, and I am sure that will be replicated in local communities throughout the State. I have said before in this House that those clean-ups are costing this State something in the region of €90 million. One can just imagine where we could spend that money better on community facilities, such as playing pitches, community playgrounds etc. We need to get that Bill enacted. I know Senator Byrne is pushing it and I will be pushing it from this side of the House. We need to see it happening in order that we can use CCTV cameras to fight against the attack that is on our cities, towns and especially our rural areas. It is something that needs to happen. As I said, I wish all those communities well this weekend and throughout the month of April with all their clean-ups. I thank them most sincerely.