David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, further to Parliamentary Question No. 342 of 20 November 2007, if the Government has completed its consideration of the report of the working group on long-term care; the action she will take to improve the situation of young carers as a result; the involvement her Department has had with the Office of the Minister for Children in the study of children engaged in inappropriate care roles as per the commitment in Towards 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24806/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Working Group on Long Term Care was established in 2005 to identify the policy options for a financially sustainable system of long-term care. It comprises senior officials from the Departments of Finance, Health and Children and my Department. The report of that working group has influenced recent Budgets and the national partnership agreement Towards 2016. The Department of Health and Children published the report on its website in January 2008.

Towards 2016 includes a commitment to a study of the extent to which children undertake inappropriate care roles in order to establish the extent and degree to which this issue arises and the levels of impact it has on the lives of children concerned. The Office of the Minister for Children, which has the lead role in relation to this study, has invited tenders for a research project on mechanisms to identify young carers aged 5-17 years and the positive and negative impact of caring on their lives and to make recommendations for ways in which they can be assisted. Officials from my Department have been working closely with that Office in that regard. It is expected that the study will begin in July 2008.

I am aware of the particular difficulties faced by young carers and I accept that special help, advice and support are essential for young carers in particular and that services must be put in place to support the household and to ensure that young carers remain at school. These include the services of home helps, public health nurses and home care packages generally, which are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children.

The Department provides income support to carers by way of carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant. The respite care grant, which is an annual payment for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention, is payable from age 16. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means or social insurance contributions but subject to certain qualifying conditions. From June 2008 the value of the grant was increased to €1,700 per year in respect of each care recipient. Carer's allowance, which provides income support to people who are providing full time care and attention to a person in need of such care and whose incomes fall below a certain limit, is payable from age 18.

I am always prepared to consider changes to existing arrangements where these are for the benefit of recipients and financially sustainable within the resources available. However, I consider that it is through the provision of health and education services rather than income that we can best support young carers.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will review the qualifying criteria for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in order that low income families who derive earnings from self-employment may qualify. [24793/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A person may qualify for payment of a back to school clothing and footwear allowance if they are in receipt of a social welfare or Health Service Executive (HSE) payment, or are participating in an approved employment scheme or attending a recognised education and training course and have household income below standard levels. The scheme provides a one-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn. The allowance is intended to provide assistance towards the cost of school clothing and footwear, not to meet the full cost.

If a person is self-employed, they or their spouse may qualify in certain circumstances for jobseekers allowance or family income supplement subject to meeting the qualifying criteria of these schemes. Self-employed people may receive back to school clothing and footwear allowance provided they are receiving a qualifying payment, such as Family Income Supplement or Jobseekers Allowance. If a self-employed person is not in receipt of a qualifying payment such as jobseeker's allowance, then they will not qualify for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme is an important support for parents at a time of particular financial strain. I am satisfied that improvements to the scheme in recent years, namely an increase in income limits and an increase in the rates of payment respectively, provide a major boost to meeting the financial costs associated with return to school for those who most need assistance. Any changes to the structure of the scheme, rates of payment, income limits or amendments to the qualifying criteria would have cost implications and would have to be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of resources available for improvements in social welfare payments generally.