Róisín Shortall
Question:181 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the progress, if any, made in relation to the review of the carer's allowance. [13129/98]
Written Answers. - Carer's Allowance.
Government policy places an increasing emphasis on the role of community care in supporting people who wish to remain in their own homes and in their own communities. The informal caring which carers provide is crucial in this regard.
In An Action Programme for the Millennium the Government is committed to: progressively relaxing the qualifying criteria for the carer's allowance to ensure more carers get the benefit; and increasing the value of the allowance in real terms. In line with these commitments, an interdepartmental working group, under the chairmanship of my Department, and with representatives from the Department of Finance and the Department of Health and Children, has been set up to review the carer's allowance. This review is considering the purpose and development of the scheme, both in terms of its current operation and its future development. It is also examining the potential for the development of provision for carers through the social insurance system and the role of the private sector.
As part of the review process, a series of very useful meetings have been held with a wide number of interest groups and other interested parties. The review is expected to be completed in the middle of this year and it will be published.