Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in sending condolences to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on the sad loss of her mother.

This Bill is important for many people. The Labour Party will support it and make sure it passes through this House as quickly as possible. However, I wish to raise a number of issues with the Minister of State. I will start with carers. The first issue I wish to raise is those who may now qualify from the welcome increase in the means test will have to wait until June 2024 before they receive that payment. The Minister of State will be aware, as will the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, that the means test is an issue I have raised with the Minister a number of times both here and at the social protection committee. It is my long-held view and belief that there should be no means test on carers given the fact that Family Carers Ireland has so often told us that carers in this country are saving the State €20 billion per year. I know of a number of cases that were still outside the means test yet they continue to provide 24-7 care for their loved ones and have asked me why they have to wait a further six months while not benefiting from the promised increase.

I welcome the introduction of a carer’s credit for those who have cared for 20 years or more. However, recently I have come across two cases - both women - who worked for a number of years and then spent in one case 12 years and in the other case 15 years caring for a loved one. It is unfortunate for them that neither will not qualify for this new credit. Perhaps the Minister of State can inform us how the 20-year rule was arrived at. It seems unfair that spending 15 years caring and unable to work would now not carry any credits under this new scheme. I welcome the scheme. It is something the Labour Party has been requesting for a long time, and I have mentioned it continuously at the social protection committee. It is my understanding - perhaps the Minister of State can confirm – that particular person will not benefit from the fact that she spent 15 years caring for her late mother because she does not have the 20 years completed.

Staying with carers, I have also come across two cases in the past week relating to those on community employment, CE, schemes. It is my understanding that on a CE scheme, you must complete 19.5 hours a week to obtain a payment. I note this is something the Minister of State is very familiar with it. I have come across two cases recently where because the people are minding and potentially would become carers and are working those 19.5 hours, they would be outside the maximum rate of carers of 18.5 hours a week. These people do not qualify for carer’s allowance yet they are caring day in, day out outside of the 19.5 hours that they do on their CE scheme. Because they are working outside the 18.5-hour rule, it is my understand that they do not qualify for carer’s allowance. Perhaps the Minister of State can come back to me on that or clarify the position for us.

I am want to highlight a number of cases that came through my clinics just in the past number of weeks. I ask the Minister to comment on one case involving an increase in the living alone allowance. In this instance, the person is living alone. Their spouse has been living in a nursing home for more than ten years. They have provided a letter from the nursing home stating that their spouse would never return home and would live out their life in that nursing home. Unfortunately, they were told three weeks ago that this will not qualify them for the living alone increase even though, for all intents and purpose, they have lived ten years by themselves in that house. They provided a letter from the nursing home stating that their loved one would not be back in their own home and would live out their life in the nursing home. I consider that unfair. I ask the Minister of State to consider such circumstances in the future. We are not talking about a major number of people but there are a number of people who I believe should qualify for the living alone increase with a loved one who has lived and will live their lives out in a nursing home. They should qualify for the living alone increase.

I raise foster carers and the important role they play in the State. I am aware that the budget will result in an increase in January for the great work foster carers carry out on a daily basis in this State. However, they also must wait until November 2024 until they get the full implementation of what they truly deserve. A large number of those fostering have contacted me as to why this is the case. These people richly deserve the income. For it not to come into place for another 12 months beggars the question I am asking the Minister of State today. The Irish Foster Care Association is disappointed by this and is asking the same question.

I wish to ask another question related to foster caring that I have come across a number of times, which is again the 20-year rule for the carer’s credit. Will those in foster care qualify for this rule? I came across one case in particular where a woman spent 30-plus years helping this State by fostering children, yet when she came to the age of qualifying for a State pension, she did not qualify in her own right and was totally dependent on her husband’s pension. This is wrong. Foster carers should be included in that carer’s allowance 20-year rule. This woman would then qualify. I ask the Minister of State to comment on that and let us know whether that is the case.

I join with colleagues, as I did this morning, in welcoming the announcement of the extension of hot meals to primary schools throughout the State. In my county, Kildare, a further 28 schools will benefit from this announcement. There can be no doubt that this is a great initiative. It will make a difference for many primary schools and give a hot meal at such an important point of the day. As I said this morning when the issue was raised, there is another knock-on benefit and that is employment in this sector. I mentioned the wonderful Bradbury’s bakery in my home town that runs a wonderful service delivering hot meals to a number of schools in the area. It employs a large number of people in the town of Athy as a result. I am also aware of recent job announcements in this sector in Tipperary. It is a further example of this very welcomed announcement.

In finishing up, I welcome the extension of child benefit payments in respect of those still in secondary school through to age 18, which the Minister of State mentioned. I raised this issue with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, this time last year. I am happy to see that is included, albeit, as the Minister of State said as well, there are people who have wait another year. I would welcome if it could be included now but it will come in in September 2024.

I cannot let the opportunity go by without mentioning the Green Paper on disability reform. I ask the Minister of State to confirm again that there has been an extension in the public consultation for a further three months. I have raised a number of concerns around this Green Paper. I am contacted regularly by people and I had a number of people in my office on Monday of last week who received letters from social protection about job activation schemes in April and May of this year. That was well before a Green Paper was announced. They have serious concerns and I can provide the letter they received. Both these people are seriously concerned about what this actually means for them, what the Green Paper will mean for them and the tiered payments as a result of that. I welcome the fact that there is an extension in public consultation. More should be done in the context of going around the country in order to explain to people what is happening. In their discussions with me on Monday, these people mentioned that Dublin, I think, Cork and Galway were the three locations that they could have gone to but, unfortunately, they could not get those places. The Minister or the Department needs to go farther around the country and have more locations with regard to trying to explain what is happening in respect of the Green Paper. They need to address many of the fears that those on disability have as a result of those announcements and the fact those people received job activation letters going back, I think, to March or April of this year.

We want to support this Bill. We believe there much good in it. I want to work with the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on ensuring this Bill goes through the House in the quickest possible time. I look forward to that happening.