Emmet Stagg
Question:33 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will give a breakdown, in general terms, on the main reasons for the refusal of carer's allowance to applicants since 1997. [15270/01]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Derek McDowell
Question:40 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will give any further consideration to the provision of a portion of the carer's allowance to carers who are already in receipt of another social welfare allowance or benefit. [15274/01]
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:58 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated number of carers who are receiving no support from the State; and if he has any proposals to provide support for them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14722/01]
Ivor Callely
Question:162 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the improvements he has made to the carer's allowance scheme; his views on whether there is further potential to extend and enhance the carer's allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14590/01]
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:172 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will carry out an evaluation of the carers allowance scheme with a view to extending the scheme to a wider group of people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15501/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 33, 40, 58, 162 and 172 together.
The carer's allowance is a means tested payment for carers on low income who look after people in need of full-time care and attention. The most recent estimate of the number of full-time carers has been provided by the results of the census pilot survey carried out by the Central Statistics Office. This survey was carried out in September 1999 and is based on a sample of 8,000 households in which persons aged 15 years or over were asked if they provided unpaid personal help for someone with a long-term illness, health problem or disability, including problems due to old age.
The detailed results are as follows: 35,000 people provide more than 50 hours unpaid per sonal help per week, or seven hours per day: 17,000 people provide 20-49 hours unpaid personal help per week, or between three and seven hours per day; and 79,000 people provide 1-19 hours unpaid personal help per week, or between nine minutes and 2.5 hours per day.
These results are consistent with the figure of 50,000 full-time carers as estimated in the review of the carer's allowance. It also explains the estimate of 120,000 carers used by the carer organisations which I have consistently said was due to the definition they were using of carer, as someone who visits or assists a person, but who does not provide full-time care. I have asked the Central Statistics Office to consider using a more detailed breakdown of these hours when conducting the census next year.
There are more than 17,100 carers in receipt of carer's allowance. These figures show that almost 33% of the 52,000 carers, as estimated by the CSO to be caring for more than three hours per day, are in receipt of carer's allowance. This is an increase of over 86% in the number of carers in receipt of the allowance since this Government took office and it should also be noted that the expected increase of another 5,000 carers following the recent increases in income disregards will increase this percentage to 42% of all carers who are providing more than three hours care per day.
This large increase is reflected in the expenditure on carer's allowance, which was £36.5 million in 1997 and is projected to be £108.4 million next year, representing an increase of almost 200%.
In budget 2001, in addition to the substantial weekly rate increases of £8 for carers aged under 66 and £10 for carers aged over 66, I also announced a number of other measures to support carers. In particular, I made provision for a substantial increase from April 2001 in the weekly income disregards in the carer's allowance means test from £75 to £125 for a single person and from £150 to £250 for a couple. As I have already mentioned, this will enable more than 5,000 new carers to qualify for carer's allowance and almost 3,000 existing carers to receive an increased payment. The effect of this increase will ensure that a couple with two children, earning a joint income in the region of £15,100, will qualify for the maximum rate of carer's allowance while a couple in receipt of £25,100 will qualify for the minimum carer's allowance, plus the free schemes and respite care grant.
The means test applied to the carer's allowance is one of the more flexible tests in terms of the assessment of household incomes and the measures that I have introduced further enhance the qualification criteria for this scheme. As I announced in my budget speech, I envisage moving towards what I see as the optimum situation, whereby all carers, whose joint family income is at average industrial earnings, will qualify for carer's allowance at the maximum rate.
In excess of 32,200 carer's allowance applications have been received from 197 to date. Of this number, about 10,000 claims for carer's allowance have been refused. In general, the number of refusals may be broken down into the following groups:
Care need and provision: Approximately 5,300 applications have been refused for reasons relating to the need for or provision of care. As the Deputy will be aware, the term "full-time care and attention" means that the care recipient is so disabled that he or she requires continual supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself or continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with his or her normal personal needs, for example, help to walk and get about, eat or drink, wash, bathe, dress, etc.
In addition, the care recipient must be so disabled as to be likely to require full-time care and attention for a period of at least 12 months. The degree of medical incapacity and the expected duration of the incapacity is certified by a medical doctor. Where applications are refused on these grounds, full-time care is either not required or is not being provided by the carer.
Means: Approximately 3,200 applications have been refused on the basis that the applicant's means exceed the limits. I have already outlined the significant improvements which I made to the means test in the last budget.
Other: A total of 1,500 applications have been refused for other miscellaneous reasons. This group includes carers who are in receipt of another, more beneficial social welfare payment, carers who withdraw their application and carers who did not satisfy the residency conditions applying at that time.
A review of the carer's allowance was carried out and published in 1998. This review considered the purpose and development of the scheme, both in terms of its current operation and its future development. It examined a wide range of issues including the payment of carer's allowance in conjunction with another social welfare payment. In this regard, the review noted that the primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income support and, as a general rule, only one social welfare payment is payable to an individual to ensure that resources are not used to make two income support payments to any one individual.
It examined the purpose of the carer's allowance and concluded that it is an income support payment and not a payment for caring. Therefore, the review concluded that two income support payments should not be made, in line with current practice. Of course, a person qualifying for two social welfare payments will always receive the higher payment to which they are entitled. The review did propose the introduction of a non-means tested ‘continual care' payment to recognise carers providing the highest levels of care and to promote care in the community. It envisaged that this payment would be made, irrespective of income or social welfare entitlement, to carers caring for those who are in the highest category of dependency.
To differentiate between the levels of care and care needs, the review considered that a needs assessment encompassing both the needs of the care recipient and the carer should be introduced, and that the "continual care" payment could be introduced following the introduction of such an assessment. It was considered that a needs assessment would separate care needs from income support needs and could be used by all State organisations which provide reliefs or grants to those in need of care.
Establishing a pilot system of needs assessment for carers and people needing care was identified as a priority in the Government's review of its action programme. This area is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Moffatt.
Following a detailed examination of the review and its proposals on the improvement and development of the carer's allowance, I introduced a range of measures in the 1999 budget and subsequent budgets to improve and develop the position of carers. Some of these measures are listed as follows: carer's allowance was extended to all carers caring for a person between the age of 16 and 65, regardless of the source of income of the care recipient; carer's allowance was extended to include carers who are caring for a child in receipt of a domiciliary care allowance; a free travel pass, free telephone rental allowance, free electricity or gas allowance and free TV licence was extended to all qualified carers; an annual payment of £400 towards respite care; a double respite care grant of £800 is payable to carers caring for more than one person; the "full-time care and attention" rule has been relaxed to allow carers in receipt of carer's allowance to take up paid employment for up to ten hours per week; the residency criteria have been relaxed to allow non-resident carers qualify for the allowance; qualified carers are no longer required to satisfy "13 paid contribution" rule when claiming disability benefit; credited PRSI contributions are available to all qualified carers and carers who have ceased their caring responsibilities are eligible for the back to education allowance and back to work schemes.
The carer's benefit scheme, which was introduced in October 2000, is specifically intended to support people who must leave the workforce to care for someone who is in need of full-time care and attention.
Government policy is strongly in favour of supporting care in the community and enabling people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. However, the State cannot, and would not wish to replace the personal support and care provided within the family and the community. Therefore, its primary role is to provide adequate support to carers and to those for whom they are caring, to enable them to remain in their own communities.
The development of the range of supports for carers will continue to be a priority for this Government and, building on the foundations now in place, we will continue to develop the types of services which recognise the value of the caring ethos and which provide real support and practical assistance to people who devote their time to improving the quality of life for others. The question of further improvements to the carer's allowance and for carers generally will be considered in a budgetary context, taking account of our key priorities in the care area, as set out in the review of our action programme.