Paul Murphy: Calls to Abolish Means Test for Carers' Allowance
Paul Murphy criticised the government's failure to set a timeline to abolish the means test for carers' allowance and demanded immediate action. He said People for Profit would abolish means tests for carers', disability, blind and invalidity pensions and raise carers' allowance from 260 to 350 euros a week.
Paul Murphy warned that without a timeline the pledge to remove the means test risks being unfulfilled and said he expected repeated debates to keep pressure on Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. He told the committee he would not be surprised to reach the next general election with promises unmet.
He said the alternative budget, to be launched tomorrow, would immediately abolish the means test for carers' allowance, disability allowance, the blind pension and invalidity pension, and increase the basic rate of carers' allowance by 90 euros to 350 euros a week from 260 euros. He criticised the current application process as a 28-page form that leaves carers with a measly $7.43 an hour for 35 hours a week.
Murphy stated People for Profit oppose all means testing of social welfare payments and argued benefits should be universal - for children, the unemployed and carers - without intrusive questions about whether someone is in a relationship or how much a partner earns.
He said the means test approach shifts responsibility for care onto families, disproportionately affecting women, and noted it saves the state around 20 billion euros a year. He cited the example of Tony and Susan Murray caring into their 70s and 80s and warned that respite and care services need proper state funding instead of reliance on charities.
Means test criticism
Paul Murphy warned that without a timeline the pledge to remove the means test risks being unfulfilled and said he expected repeated debates to keep pressure on Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. He told the committee he would not be surprised to reach the next general election with promises unmet.
Policy proposal and numbers
He said the alternative budget, to be launched tomorrow, would immediately abolish the means test for carers' allowance, disability allowance, the blind pension and invalidity pension, and increase the basic rate of carers' allowance by 90 euros to 350 euros a week from 260 euros. He criticised the current application process as a 28-page form that leaves carers with a measly $7.43 an hour for 35 hours a week.
Universal benefits stance
Murphy stated People for Profit oppose all means testing of social welfare payments and argued benefits should be universal - for children, the unemployed and carers - without intrusive questions about whether someone is in a relationship or how much a partner earns.
Impact on carers and state savings
He said the means test approach shifts responsibility for care onto families, disproportionately affecting women, and noted it saves the state around 20 billion euros a year. He cited the example of Tony and Susan Murray caring into their 70s and 80s and warned that respite and care services need proper state funding instead of reliance on charities.
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Transcript
Thanks a lot, Chair, and thanks a lot to the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. I mean, I've lost count of the number of times we've debated this issue and it all. I welcome that there's a commitment in the programme for government to get rid of the means test, but I have to say I will not be surprised if we end up going into the next general election and Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are promising to get rid of the means test. I think the failure to provide a timeline is extremely concerning and suggest that this is one of these promises that will not be met and will require many more debates like this to keep the pressure up. We in People for Profit are against all means testing of social welfare payments. We believe in universal benefits. Just like if you have a child, you get child benefit. If you lose your job, you get job seekers benefit. If you're a carer, you should get carer's allowance. As simple as that. There should be no intrusive questions asked about whether you're in a relationship or how much your partner earns. That is irrelevant. It's also deeply sexist as the majority of family carers are women. We need to get away from the approach that underlies this, which is about putting responsibility for care onto families. It's very convenient for the state because it saves it around 20 billion euros a year. But instead of privatising care, instead of expecting families to do the work for free or for very low cost, the state needs to step up and properly resource care. It needs to fully fund respite and care services rather than expecting charities to fundraise all the time to keep the doors open. It's especially important for older carers like Tony and Susan Murray, who are caring full-time into their 70s and 80s because of a lack of government services. Tony told RTE, We have this playing around with rights. There are no rights. The fact is, Aoife, who's their daughter, needs care and needs a service, and that is going to cost. Our alternative budget, being launched tomorrow, would immediately abolish the means test for carers' allowance, for disability allowance, for the blind pension and invalidity pension. We would also increase the basic rate of carers' allowance by 90 euros to 350 euros a week. At the moment, it's 260. So you jump through all the hoops, you fill out a 28-page application form, and your reward at the end of that is a measly $7.43 an hour. That's if you're only working 35 hours a week at caring, and as we all know, many are working much more than that, meaning they're being paid even less than $7.43 an hour. This is completely unacceptable. It shows a continued lack of respect for carers from Fianna Fáil, Fianna Gael, and the Lowry Group. As long as there is a means test for carers' allowance, as long as there is an income disregard, there will be official state disregard for carers and the people they care for. Carers have had enough, it's clear. Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael need to stop paying lip service to the carers. They need to put their money where their mouth is and abolish the means test for carers' allowance. They could do it in next week's budget. Thank you.