Holly Cairns: Abolish the Carers Means Test Now

Go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle, at the outset I want to condemn the horrific attack in Belfast on Monday. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family and I also want to condemn the racist attacks last night and join others in calling for an end to the violence. Taoiseach, I want to talk to you today about the extreme pressure family carers are under. 71% are now struggling to make ends meet according to the recent Family Carers Ireland report. Nearly half are experiencing extreme loneliness, desperate for support that never comes, feeling like their world is shrinking. This is an indictment of your government. The state which should be there to help them is actually making their lives harder and pushing an increasing number of carers into poverty. That is the grim reality. Imagine how frustrating it is for those carers to hear this government's repeated claims that you value their work as they're forced to pay out of pocket for essential equipment and therapies that should be provided by the state, and are forced to jump through endless hoops just to qualify for the carers allowance, living in constant fear that a new review or new assessment will push them just over the threshold, leaving them with nothing, no financial support and no services. Catherine Rossiter, who cares for her 12-year-old twins, Aoife and Owen, launched this report with Family Carers Ireland. She said, and I quote, I often think my life is a test of human endurance. How much can I take as a carer before I break? What will happen to my young daughter and son then? The worry feels endless. This is the reality for so many carers across the country. They are exhausted, drained and filled with dread when they think about the future. And the vast majority of carers who are in this position are women. They are saving the state billions every year. And what are they getting in return? Loneliness, burnout, poverty. Taoiseach, your government has a growing reputation for making commitments and abandoning them. You committed to abolishing the means test for carers. Carers have had enough of empty promises, so I'm asking you, will you keep this one? There is no excuse not to. We can afford it. It would cost €266 million, according to the report by the Parliamentary Budgetary Office. It could be paid for by tripling the bank levy on banks earning record profits with money left over to invest in services. So Taoiseach, will you abolish the means test for carers in the forthcoming budget? Will you give carers that reassurance of making that commitment to them now? Thank you, Deputy. Taoiseach, please. First of all, government does acknowledge and take very seriously the role of carers in our society. And acknowledge that we have made commitments in the programme for government, particularly in relation to the commitment in terms of the weekly income disregard that we would eliminate the means test, essentially. And already, as part of the last budget, and from July, from this July, the weekly income disregard will increase from €625 to €1,000 for a single person, and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of a couple. The latest reforms will result in more carers qualifying for carers allowance. In effect, it means that a carer in two adult households with an income of approximately €110,000 will still retain their full carers payment, and even with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment. So that is a significant step taken already in respect to the programme for government commitment to abolish the means test for carers allowance over the lifetime of the government, which is the commitment we made. In addition to that, the carer support grant of €2,000 is paid this month. And of course, we will, in the forthcoming budget, further develop on that commitment and further realise that commitment in terms of the income disregard and the means test. We increased the core weekly social welfare rates by €10. The highest ever increases in child support payments occurred in the last budget, and I took a keen interest in that with Minister Dardoch-Leary because of the unit in my department dealing with child poverty. And so we increased the child support payment for children aged 12 or over to €78, that was by €16, and €8 to €58 for children under 12. And since 2020, that's the last five years, the weekly child support payment has increased by 95% for children aged 12 and over, and by 61% for children under 12. And I heard the Children's Rights Alliance this morning describe that as a significant move, although recent inflation and fuel influences has negated it to some extent nonetheless. It is recognised generally as a more targeted way of dealing with child poverty. We've increased the fuel allowance. We increased the domiciliary care allowance by €20, bringing it to €380 per month now, and that's gone up €70 since 2022. So we are progressively increasing key payments that will help carers and that will help also children that are being cared for. The Minister is also working on proposals and there's been a public consultation with respect to the cost of disability payment, and a lot of work has been done on that. And there was a Focus Network summit on the 13th of May last, in respect of that specific issue which was hosted by the Minister for Social Protection. Thank you. Deputy Cairns. Taoiseach, you say you acknowledge the role of carers and you acknowledge the need to abolish it ultimately over the lifetime of this government. So I presume you acknowledge then that the changes in the threshold isn't abolishing it, it's kind of slowly working towards that, and I appreciate that the government is doing that. But I think if I'm right, I can take from your reply that you don't plan to abolish it entirely in this budget, that it is something you're planning to do over the lifetime of the government. But I would ask you to reconsider that, because when you consider the very fortunate position the government is in, in terms of, you know, record surpluses, and you consider the reality of this report, 75% of carers have never received respite, 76% have cut back on non-essentials, 32% report bad mental health, 48% experience severe loneliness. And this is something the government can do now, 266 million, when carers are saving the state billions. So Taoiseach, I'm asking you to seriously reconsider and consider doing this in the next budget. It is something you've committed to doing. It is something that needs to happen now. Will you do it? Taoiseach? Well, as I said, we're going to do it. We did give the commitment that it would happen over the lifetime of the government. But already, I wouldn't underestimate the step we've already taken, because I think when this lands in July, the increase in the income disregard actually will be quite significant, maybe more significant than people thought. And so I think we'll make a further significant move in the next budget, in the forthcoming budget. And I think we will have, we'll be well on the way then to eliminating the means test. But of course, there's a wide variety of measures we have to do to make, to improve the situation for carers, and for people with disabilities more generally. We're looking at a transport, new transport scheme to be introduced by the Department of Transport, which we have been working on in the Cabinet Subcommittee on Disability. I've mentioned already family support payments. I've mentioned the constant disability initiative. So there's a wide range of areas that if you bring them all together, will make a meaningful difference. And of course, the investment in core services as well. Because what can alleviate a lot of pressures on people is providing other supports, such as therapies. Time is up. Sorry, the school-based therapy service, which would take some pressure off.