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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 27 Mar 2003

Vol. 563 No. 6

Written Answers - Health Board Allowances.

Damien English

Question:

8 Mr. English asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on whether the limited definition of carer, as those who are providing full time care and attention for persons who are medically assessed as having such a serious disability that they require care for at least 12 months, is too restrictive and excludes many genuine carers; and if she will review the situation. [8412/03]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

14 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason extra payments of carers allowance are denied to families who have more than two disabled children; her views on whether the cost of allowing for a payment to cover additional disabled children will be nominal; and if she will arrange this accordingly. [8409/03]

Liz McManus

Question:

16 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her reasons for not establishing a national database of carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8480/03]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

26 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she intends to take to expand the scope of the carers allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8498/03]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

29 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will introduce a change in policy in order that social welfare recipients, who are normally the most financially vulnerable, are no longer excluded from the carers allowance. [8410/03]

James Breen

Question:

32 Mr. J. Breen asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will abolish the means test for carers allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8431/03]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 14, 16, 26, 29 and 32 together.

The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain elderly or incapacitated persons with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. There are currently 20,400 people in receipt of the allowance at a cost of €160 million last year.

The qualifying conditions specify that the per son must be likely to require full-time care and attention for at least 12 months. In applying this condition the circumstances of each individual case are taken into account and the arrangements are applied in a flexible manner, having regard to the needs of the carers and the person requiring care.
As with all other social assistance schemes, a means test applies, under which the income of the applicant and his/her partner is assessable, to ensure that limited resources are directed to those in greatest need.
Provision has been made in successive budgets for substantial increases in the means disregards. From April 2003 the weekly income disregards will increase to €210 for a single carer and to €420 for a couple. The effect of this increase will be that a couple with two children, earning a joint income of up to €24,150 can qualify for the maximum rate of carer's allowance. The same couple, if they had an income of €39,750, could still qualify for partial carer's allowance, plus the free schemes and the respite care grant. It is estimated that an additional 1,700 carers will qualify for the allowance and 2,800 existing carers will receive an increased payment as a result of this measure.
It is estimated that abolition of the means test could cost in the region of €150 million per annum. In view of the many supports required by carers, particularly in community care and respite care, it is considered that abolition of the means test would not constitute the best use of the resources available for the support of carers.
Work has been undertaken by the Central Statistics Office to identify the number of carers providing full-time care and attention. This was done through a census pilot survey carried out in September 1999 and data from this are available.
The Central Statistics Office then included in the 2002 Census a question in relation to the number of hours spent providing personal care. The analysis of this portion of the census, when available, should provide more comprehensive data on the number of full time and part time carers.
In relation to paying carer's allowance concurrently with another social welfare payment, 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. This ensures that resources are not used to make two income support payments to any one individual. Of course, persons qualifying for two social welfare payments will always receive the higher payment to which they are entitled.
Carers of more than one incapacitated person are currently entitled to an additional 50% of their rate of payment. This is an acknowledgement of the particular difficulties, both financial and personal, which are faced by these carers. Of the 20,470 people currently in receipt of carer's allowance, 2,140 are in receipt of this additional 50% payment.
These recipients also receive a double respite care grant of €1,470 in June each year. The introduction of further improvements for this group of carers would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
In relation to future developments in this area, the health strategy, which was published in 2001, commits the Government to reforming the current arrangements, including the carer's allowance, in order to introduce an integrated care subvention scheme which maximises support for home carer. The strategy also contains a number of other proposals for carers and those for whom they care and a number of Departments are involved in progressing these and other initiatives.
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.
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