Vol. 1044 No. 4
54. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider allowing persons in receipt of disability allowance, blind pension, carer's allowance or an invalidity pension to remain part of the free travel scheme if they return to employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46446/23]
Will the Minister consider allowing persons in receipt of disability allowance or the blind pension to remain part of the free travel scheme if they return to employment and will make a statement on the matter? Carer's allowance and invalidity pension were mistakenly included in my original written question because of an oversight.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are more than 1 million customers with direct eligibility. This increases to 1.75 million customers when spouses and companions are included. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million. Since 2017, people moving from certain long-term disability schemes are able to retain their free travel entitlement for a further period of five years, provided they previously had an entitlement to free travel. Customers moving from the blind pension to employment do not lose their entitlement to a free travel pass and, as such, retain the pass on an ongoing basis.
As part of budget 2024, I was particularly pleased to announce the expansion of my Department’s free travel pass to support people medically certified as unable to drive. There will be no requirement that a person must be in receipt of a social welfare payment to qualify for a free travel pass on these medical grounds, provided the other qualifying criteria are met. The measure could benefit people who return to work and who would otherwise lose their free travel entitlement after five years. If they are deemed medically unfit to drive for a period of one year or longer, they may qualify for the medical grounds free travel pass. The implementation date for the measure is July 2024. This will allow my Department to develop a new administrative process, engage with outside agencies and transport providers and to make the necessary IT updates. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
I tabled this question because we have a poor rate of employment for disabled people. Of those of working age, disabled people are only half as likely to be employed as those without a disability. The average employment rate among disabled people in Europe is 51%, but in Ireland it is only 32.6%. With Greece, we are the joint worst, but that country has a very low rate of employment anyway, while we have a healthy rate. This actually makes our rate worse because the employment gap is greater.
Many disabled people who come before the Joint Committee on Disability Matters state that the loss of secondary benefits is one of the main reasons, and there are many, for not working. Medical cards are another major reason, but this issue is outside the remit of the Minister's Department. The other major aspect is the free travel pass. I know people can keep the pass for five years, but taking the cost of disability into account, could this be extended? Perhaps it could be based on earnings. Many disabled people who lose their free travel pass after five years, unfortunately, may not be earning huge amounts of money because much of their work is part-time in nature. Being able to keep the free travel pass longer is important because losing it will add extra costs for them.
Ireland is behind the average EU rates for the employment of people with disabilities. I have worked to enhance the supports we have in my Department, whether it is the employability programme, the reasonable accommodation fund, the WorkAbility programme or the wage subsidy scheme for people with disabilities. I was delighted to bring in changes in this budget. There had not been any changes in the Department's free travel pass scheme for many years, but I got approval to extend the free travel pass to people medically unfit to drive. This means they will get the free travel pass regardless of whether they are receiving a social welfare payment. It means that people who have a disability and who cannot have a licence to drive to work because they have been certified as being medically unfit to drive will qualify to get the free travel pass. This will help a good number of people who have disabilities to have access to their workplaces.
The whole focus here is to get away from the situation where disabled people sometimes look at returning to employment but realise they would be better off staying on the disability payment because of the additional benefits they get. I ask that as many changes as possible be made in this regard to encourage as many people as possible to get back into the workforce. The Minister mentioned those who are medically unfit to drive and the free travel pass being extended to them. Could she elaborate on this point? I am unclear as to how someone is deemed unfit to drive. Is this in any way related to the primary medical certificate? Is it different from it?
I refer to the assessment in this regard, because it is very stringent. I am wondering what the criteria would be like to allow someone to be deemed medically unfit to drive. Many people apply for the primary medical certificate but they are not in a position to access public transport, so even the provision of a free travel pass to them would not be of any benefit because there are no public transport services in their areas. It is very difficult, however, to get the primary medical certificate to allow people to avail of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme, so how stringent are the criteria to allow people to be deemed medically unfit to drive?
I did a lot of work with Epilepsy Ireland, because this is probably the best example in this regard. People who have epilepsy are put off the road and cannot drive. I engaged, therefore, with Epilepsy Ireland on this issue and have been doing so for some time. I met representatives of the organisation several times. I know people who have epilepsy and it is not easy for them because they just cannot get to work as they cannot drive. If they could get access to transport, then they would be in a much better position. They would be able to have the flexibility that comes with this access to transport.
If someone loses his or her licence due to a seizure, that is awful. What I want to do in this regard is to extend the free travel pass to those deemed medically unfit to drive. This will not only benefit those with epilepsy but also anybody with a medical condition or disability that prevents them from driving. If someone is put off the road because of epilepsy, it is obvious that is it. There are other cases where people have other conditions which mean they also cannot drive. It will be up to the medics to certify that people in this situation are unfit to drive for one year or more. It will be necessary for people to be off the road for one year or more. They can then have their medical assessment with their GP.
55. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason for the reduction in outreach services previously provided by Citizens' Information branches across the country before the pandemic; what steps, if any, her Department is taking to restore these outreach services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46414/23]
I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Cahill. I think this is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate the Minister on the negotiations in regard to the budget. For the second year in a row, the combination of once-off payments and increases in core rates has led the ESRI to state that these changes have kept people ahead of inflation. Given international rates of inflation, as well as those here, this is an achievement. At the same time, it gives us the flexibility to row back on this when inflation changes. There will be a cliff edge there for us at some point in respect of trying to ensure we keep pace in this regard, but the Minister has handled this aspect well so far. When that cliff edge does arrive, therefore, I do not doubt that she will be able to handle it with the same sense of fairness.
This question relates to citizens' information centres. It came on foot of a number of queries from several Fianna Fáil back benchers regarding the closure of citizens information centres, namely, in Wicklow, Stillorgan and Rathmines. Will the Minister address the issue of the reduction in services since the onset of Covid-19?
I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this issue. The Citizens Information Board, CIB, is a statutory body under the aegis of my Department. CIB funds and supports a number of service delivery companies to provide services on its behalf including eight regional citizens information service, CIS, companies which operate the national network of citizens' information centres.
The Comhairle Act charges CIB with the provision of independent information, advice and advocacy services. Each CIS company is a separate company in its own right, governed by a voluntary board of directors. Decisions regarding the delivery of services, including outreach services, are entirely a matter for the respective boards in their own regions. As Minister, I cannot direct them regarding operational decisions.
To date in 2023, the CIS has supported 328,258 people with 661,713 queries across a wide range of areas. The provision of outreach services is dependent on public demand and resources and is kept under review by the relevant CIS company. The Citizens Information Board has informed me that there are currently 90 citizens information centres open nationwide and 14 outreach centres. Following the Covid-19 pandemic there has, however, been a significant fall in the number of volunteers available to volunteer in the citizen information centres. Volunteers have been essential in providing valuable independent information and advice across the country through the network of citizens information centres and I wish to reiterate once again my strong appreciation for the vital service they provide. While some volunteers have returned to the service, I am pleased that local volunteer recruitment drives are taking place. It is important that the CIS companies continue to attract new volunteers. CIB informs me that once volunteer numbers are established on completion of these recruitment measures CIS companies will continue to review the provision of all services to the citizens information centres.
One CIB, eight CIS and 90 CICs have closed - all the acronyms would make one's head hurt. In essence one of the difficulties with the system is that the Minister cannot direct them because they are separate companies, but it was not any one of those companies that decided this, it was us. It was the Oireachtas that decided to have independent companies. The community and voluntary sector is plagued with a structure where we have set up a system that devolves responsibility, but that is a bigger point.
Citizens information centres, CICs, are absolutely key. All Members' clinics would have twice the number of people in them if it were not for those centres. I agree with the Minister on the issue of volunteers but we need to do more to try to support the CICs to recruit volunteers where we can. I am aware there were issues around the use of community employment workers in some of those centres but the closure of centres is very concerning. I have mentioned a number of closures and while the website is a fantastic service it does not replace the walk-in service that many of the CICs operate.
I take on board the points made by Deputy McAuliffe. I know the Deputy's background and he will be aware that my background is in the credit union so nobody knows better the value of community, the value of volunteers and the voluntary ethos that I saw at first hand there.
I am pleased to see a number of recruitment drives for volunteers are taking place around the country. I want to see the volunteers who were there pre-pandemic coming back. Of course we also want to see new volunteers coming on board. I am glad that the citizens information services are looking and trying to attract volunteers. Indeed, I opened a newly upgraded citizens information centre in Monaghan town only last Friday. It is actually on the site of the old credit union because they have moved to bigger things. It was the 50th anniversary of the citizens information office in Monaghan. I opened another office in Roscommon earlier in the year. It is a great resource. We can use this as a call to people to come forward. We must be sure too that the information they give is accurate and independent. That is what we pride ourselves on.
I join the Minister in encouraging people to come forward. From speaking to many volunteers I know it is a very rewarding service. As we in this House all know, to be able to impart information to people, which they otherwise would not be aware of, is a very rewarding experience. It certainly is for me any time I am in my clinic. There is, however, more that can be done. This issue around volunteering is impacting voluntary services right across the country. GAA clubs and football clubs are all saying the same thing. In many areas people have retracted and we need to get them back out where we can. Whatever we can do to support these services I would encourage the Minister to do. The Minister is very welcome to come out to visit either of the citizens information centres in my constituency at any stage.
Last year volunteers in citizens information branches in Carlow were told they were no longer needed. They were really good information providers. I can speak for them because I know most of them there. The move towards going online since Covid has meant a reduction in the face-to-face services being offered. This is a huge issue for me. When we are losing face-to-face contact it becomes a huge issue.
In my area the outreach services in Callan, Graiguenamanagh, Mooncoin, Tullow and Baltinglass have been closed. What will be there for those services? We need to get them back.
I see it like the speakers do. People are coming into my clinics and I am delighted to help them but we seem to be going more online. If a person is not inclined to be online it can be a huge disadvantage. I welcome the Minister saying that we are looking to bring back volunteers but I ask that these outreach services are put back in place. I know most of the volunteers, they do an excellent job and they are very capable people.
In my Department of Rural and Community Development we are developing a national volunteer strategy because it is important that we get people to volunteer. It is very rewarding. Some people may think they are taking on too much and maybe sometimes the responsibilities are too onerous for them but we do want to encourage them to get involved. We all know it can be very rewarding.
I am aware of the issue in Carlow. I was well aware of it last year and earlier this year. One of the strengths of the citizens information centre is its complete independence. This is why it is trusted to provide impartial and unbiased advice. If the Government or I started interfering in the running of the citizens information service we would be accused of propaganda. This is why it is up to the Citizens Information Board and the local citizens information service companies to run the service as they see fit.
In 2023 CIB had allocated funding of more than €17.3 million for the eight regional services and they are best placed to determine where those resources are needed in terms of public demand and the numbers calling into offices and outreach centres and so on. I will raise with them the point made by the Deputy.
We are moving on to a grouping of questions and I ask Members to be cognisant of the time.
57. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she remains satisfied that all critical issues anticipated in budget 2024 have been adequately dealt with, notwithstanding the ongoing economic/cost of living issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46441/23]
84. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline the payment dates for the nine lump sums she announced as part of budget 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46341/23]
101. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the proposed scheduling of social welfare payments for the Christmas period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46229/23]
To what extent is the Minster satisfied that she has touched all the sensitive areas in relation to the challenges that face people who are dependent on a social welfare payment, and particularly in the face of rising costs, the cost-of-living increases, and a whole lot of challenges that manifested themselves as a result of inflation?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 84 and 101 together.
As part of budget 2024, I secured a €2.3 billion social protection package. This is, for the second year in a row, the largest in the history of the State. This package provides a mixture of exceptional cost-of-living payments delivered over the coming weeks, along with an across-the-board €12 weekly rate increase in primary payments and an increase of €4 per week for a qualified child, both of which take effect from early January. This approach will ease the pressure that many households will face over the coming winter months, acting quickly to provide lump sum supports and providing an ongoing support through the provision of the weekly rate increase from January.
Post-budget analysis from the ESRI shows that this package will insulate most households from rising prices next year. As part of this package, a wide range of lump-sum payments will be paid in the coming weeks and months. In the week beginning 20 November to support low-income working families a cost-of-living payment of €400 will be paid to 46,000 recipients of the working family payment recipients.
A lump sum of €400 will be paid to 214,000 people receiving disability allowance, the blind pension and the invalidity pension in recognition of the additional cost-of-living pressures they face, and there will be a lump sum of €300 for more than 400,000 people who receive the fuel allowance. This is particularly important as we come into colder weather for pensioners and people with disabilities who may need extra heating.
In the week beginning 27 November, three further payments will be made. A €400 lump sum will be paid to 130,000 carers. As people living on their own face similar energy costs as couples, a payment of €200 will be paid to 237,000 people who receive the living alone allowance. There will also be a targeted lump sum of €100 for each child for those receiving an increase for a qualified child. On 5 December, families with children will receive a double payment of child benefit, benefiting approximately 1.2 million children. There will be two double payment weeks. In the week beginning 4 December, a 100% Christmas bonus will be paid to 1.3 million people on long-term schemes. A double payment will also be paid in the week commencing 29 January on the same basis as the Christmas bonus. As the rate increases will have taken effect, this will be paid at the higher rates. I am satisfied that this budget protects the most vulnerable in our society, particularly children in low-income families. Of course, there are always additional measures I would have liked to include but framing any budget requires difficult decisions given there is a limit of what can be done in a single year.
I was also pleased to announce key reforms such as the introduction of a pay-related jobseeker’s benefit from next year, subject to final Government approval, as well as an extension of parent’s benefit to nine weeks, improvements to the wage subsidy scheme, extending free travel to those who are medically unfit to drive and further extending the hot school meals programme, among other measures.
I attended a school yesterday in north Monaghan and talked to the children in fifth and sixth class. They are getting the hot school meals programme because it is a DEIS school. The teachers and young children could not speak highly enough about that programme. It is a wonderful addition for any child who is going to school because they get a good healthy meal in the middle of the day. They choose what they want to eat the week before. I heard one of the providers on the radio this morning and he said there are 15 options. I would not mind that menu myself. The children pick whatever it is they want and it is delivered to them in the school and they get that hot meal. Their educational attainment, because of the hot school meals programme, is much better and they do better at school. It is a great leveller because everybody gets the same. We all know there would be many a time when making lunches for children that they would come home and tell you they could not eat that but if they had what somebody else was eating they would eat it. One thing is for sure - when they got that, they would not eat that either. I have been to other schools in the city here where they get their lunch and it is one of the best measures. It is one of these under-the-radar measures sometimes but it really makes a difference.
Those are some of the things I have done in this budget. It is not always the big things. They make the headlines but sometimes the smaller things can make a real difference in people’s lives. I thank the Deputies for raising the issue.
I thank the Minister for that comprehensive reply. I am not going to prolong my question because other Members' questions are grouped with it. I congratulate the Minister on identifying the areas she has referred to and for acknowledging the fact that there are people who are in particular difficulties at the present time, through no fault of their own, due to the fact that circumstances have changed, inflation has taken off or there may be an illness in the household that changed the whole situation for individual families. I merely suggest that the Minister continue to monitor these situations with a view to making any changes that are required when and if possible.
I commend the Minister's dedication, especially regarding the extension of the hot school meals programme to an additional 320 DEIS schools. Her commitment to this programme is very evident and it is clear that these efforts will ensure that many children receive the nutritious meals they so critically need. Regarding the long-term vision for the programme, I would like some insight into how these efforts might curb the prevalence of food insecurity among children. Could the Minister could provide insight into some of the strategies that are in the pipeline to reach an even broader spectrum of schools? How does she plan to guarantee that every child across the nation receives access to wholesome meals into the future?
I also thank the Minister for the hot school meals programme. It has been so beneficial to children families that have always been under pressure with their children going to school. It is an excellent scheme. We set up St Clare's Hospitality Kitchen in Graiguecullen, County Carlow. There is no funding there. We are feeding children. We are giving out food parcels. There are approximately 100 food parcels going out a week. There are families coming in for dinner in the evening. I know the Minister's commitment to putting funding into places where it is needed. Given the cost of living, I would ask that a once-off payment be given to those particular organisations, such as the soup kitchens and others that need it. They are in need of it because people are not able to keep donating and donating the whole time.
Deputy Dillon mentioned the hot school meals programme. The expansion of the programme in 2024 will cover an additional 900 primary schools. That means that by this time next year, we will be two thirds of the way to providing hot meals to all primary school children. My aim is that any child born this year will have access to the hot school meals programme by the time they are going to primary school. That means we want to roll it out to every primary school. That scheme addresses issues around child poverty, particularly food poverty, and it means children get that wholesome meal in the middle of the day. As I said earlier, I visited a school in Artane and it was lovely to see the children all sitting around the table facing each other, having a conversation and eating their dinner. It would do your heart good. There was not one scrap left or one piece of the tinfoil the food came in. I saw it myself.
That is very good.
That is just because the Minister was present.
I am not that good. It is a big game changer and I want to pursue it.
As regards secondary schools, I felt we should deal with the primary schools first because younger children are not able to fend for themselves. When they get to secondary school, they might be able to put a bit of ham in the middle of two slices of bread and move on. We will expand it. We have the school meals programme for secondary schools and I hope they can take that up and as time goes on we will roll it out the whole way. That will be a great legacy of this Government in the fact we are going to get it to the primary schools.
I take Deputy Murnane O'Connor's point about people having difficulties. That is why we have the lump sum payments. It puts the money in people's pockets when they need it because they need money in the run-up to Christmas and they need to pay to fill the oil tank or whatever else but then come January, which is a lean month. That is why we are giving the double payment and people will get that wee bit extra because they will have the €12 extra in their payment.
Did Deputy Durkan want to come in for his second slot?
No, I am happy. I will let my colleagues in.
I thank the Minister for her response. Reverting to her earlier statement about the proactive measures to uplift families and children in budget 2024, the suite of comprehensive measures she has outlined clearly indicates a sincere intent to lessen the financial strain and boost the quality of life for many families.
Those measures are to be commended, including the €12 weekly hike in social welfare, the increase in the working family payment, the enhanced weekly qualified child payment and the parent's benefit extension. The Minister talked about once-off payments and also strategies for the longer term to tackle the underlying drivers of family and child poverty. Does she have projections for how those strategies might decrease the prevalence of poverty?
The once-off payments before Christmas and shortly after Christmas are really welcome but there still are families feeling the pinch. I am working with a man at the moment who, through no fault of his own, got very sick. He is on a social welfare payment now and is trying to pay a mortgage. I am trying to get help for him and his family, particularly with their heating bill. People can go to their social welfare office and get help with bills like that. We need to do more to promote that provision.
I refer the Minister again to the work of soup kitchens. There is no funding available for my local one, St. Clare's Hospitality Kitchen. I invite her to come down to Carlow to visit the soup kitchen, which is named for the Poor Clares, and see the families that are coming in and being fed. They are in real need. Is there something she can do to support soup kitchens?
If people are running into problems, they need to look to the essential needs payment. It is there and is available. Anybody who has a problem with their mortgage, before getting into any deep difficulties, should go to the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS. It is a free service and the staff give good advice and will advocate on people's behalf. Deputies should send people to MABS.
I do not have any plans for my Department to start funding soup kitchens. We want to support individuals.
On Deputy Dillon's question, as I said, ESRI data show the budget package will insulate most households from rising prices next year. Carers will get the two double payments at Christmas and in January, a €400 lump sum in November and a €12 weekly increase in January. All in all, there will be approximately an extra €30 a week for carers. People on disability allowance will get approximately €2,020 over the year, which works out at an extra €39 per week. These provisions protect those on the lowest incomes. On top of the rate increases and the lump sums, I was pleased to get Government approval for the other important measures. I forgot to mention the extension of child benefit for 18-year-olds in full-time education. I received a lot of positive feedback on that measure. Some people are disappointed it will not kick in until the start of the next school year but the good news is the change is happening.
58. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration is being given to extending the duration of carer’s benefit beyond the current 104 weeks. [46385/23]
90. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the recent changes to the means test for the carer’s allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46416/23]
95. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration is being given to abolishing the means test for the carer’s allowance. [46383/23]
109. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection when the new system to enable long-term carers to qualify for a State pension will take effect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46186/23]
Does the Department have any plans to extend the payment of carer's benefit beyond 104 weeks? Many people go on the benefit to look after a parent, partner or child who has become chronically sick, and that care often must continue for longer than 104 weeks. These people may have years of stamp contributions.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 90, 95 and 109 together.
Carer's benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. It is payable for a maximum of 104 weeks for each person being cared for. It can be taken in one block or in separate periods as long as the combined total does not exceed 104 weeks. The average duration of a carer's benefit claim is 76 weeks. I do not consider it necessary to extend the duration of the benefit for longer than 104 weeks at this point.
Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of improvements within the social welfare system to enhance the supports available for carers, including significant improvements to the means test for carer's allowance. There have been improvements in the latest budget and the previous one. Last June, the income disregards were increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse or partner. As part of budget 2024, the weekly income disregard will be increased from €350 to €450 for a single person and from €750 to €900 for carers with a spouse or partner. That will kick in next year. Since June 2022, this amounts to cumulative increases in the disregards of €117.50 for a single carer and €235 for a carer who is part of a couple. These are the highest income disregards in the social welfare system. In addition, the capital and savings disregard for the carer's allowance means test was increased last year from €20,000 to €50,000. I am satisfied that raising the general weekly income disregard will mean more carers with modest incomes are brought into the system.
However, the reality is that no matter where I draw the line with the means test, there will always be some people who fall on the other side and do not qualify. Removing the means test for carer's allowance in its entirety would create a new universal social protection scheme for those meeting the scheme's basic caring condition. Carer's allowance does not purport to be a payment for care and I do not intend to deviate from the underpinning principle of the allowance being an income support payment. I propose, though, to establish, with the Department of Health, an interdepartmental working group to examine and review the entire system of means tests for carers' payment.
The weekly rates for carer's allowance and carer's benefit have increased by €29 over the past three years. During my tenure, the rate of the carer's support grant has increased to €1,850, which is its highest ever level. In September 2022, I announced the introduction of State pension provision for long-term carers by attributing the equivalent of paid contributions to cover gaps in their contribution record. I hope to bring that into effect from 1 January next year. These long-term carer's contributions will be available to those who provided full-time care to incapacitated dependants for 20 years or more. I expect to bring the necessary legislation before the Oireachtas soon, with the scheme to be fully implemented from January 2024. Last month, my Department launched an online system for people to register for long-term carer's contributions to facilitate the early processing of claims upon enactment of the legislation. I hope to be in a position to get the legislation through and the system up and running from the beginning of January. I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising the matter.
I thank the Minister and congratulate her on the disregard increases she has introduced and the amount of work she has done in facilitating the carer's means test. I am fully aware of the work that had to be done to get those figures together. Well done to her on that.
She referred to an interdepartmental group. There are a number of issues it could look at. The Minister said the average duration of a claim for carer's benefit is 76 weeks. How many people who come off the benefit cease getting any payment from the State but continue to qualify for the carer's support grant? That would give a figure for how many people do not go back to paid employment and continue to provide care. I understand her point about a universal payment, all that goes with it and the challenges that are there, but there is this cohort of people to consider.
I also understand the issue regarding the State pension. The Minister has achieved a very welcome development in that regard and the legislation will be very beneficial-----
I thank the Deputy.
Will the Minister look at the figures for those who come off the carer's benefit?
I welcome the increase in the income disregard for the carer’s allowance announced in the budget. I, like many colleagues from throughout the House, lobbied extensively on this, so it is a move I warmly welcome. I note the interdepartmental working group and review the Minister mentioned. Like many others, I met representatives of Family Carers Ireland ahead of the budget. The best way to support family carers, as the Minister will know, is to work towards the phasing-out of a means test over the next four years, and I hope that whoever is in government at that point will replace the carer's allowance with a participation income.
I welcome also the €400 one-off payment for those in receipt of the carer's support grant and the domiciliary care allowance, but this increase was nowhere near enough. As I have said previously, the Government refusing to make the increases permanent is an example of electioneering. The domiciliary care allowance and the carer's allowance should both have been increased to €325, an ask from Family Carers Ireland that I support, and I will push for those important and permanent increases for the 9,000 carers in Clare.
Like the Deputies, I meet carers all the time in my constituency office. We help them fill out their forms and follow up on their applications in the same way the Deputies do, and I can only say they do great work. One of my priorities since I became Minister for Social Protection has been to do whatever I can to support our carers because I know the huge work they do and the contribution they make to our society.
In my first budget, therefore, I increased the carer's support grant to €1,850. In budget 2022, I was the first Minister in 14 years to make any changes to the carer's means test, and I followed that up in this year's budget with further increases, whereby it will rise to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple. The €400 lump-sum payment for carers will be paid in November and carers will also receive double payments at Christmas and at the end of January. From January, therefore, the carer's allowance payments will have increased by €12, which means that over the past two budgets alone, I will have increased the weekly payments carers receive by €24. When we take the increase to the weekly payments together with the lump sums, carers will have more than €1,500 in their pocket in this year, which works out at roughly €30 a week.
I will address the other question in my follow-up response.
In the review that is taking place, could we establish how many people who come off the carer's benefit and continue with the carer's support grant do not get the carer’s allowance? Perhaps that information could feed into the interdepartmental discussion group.
I was delighted to meet Vicky and Fiona from Family Carers Ireland before the budget and we spoke at length about the importance of family carers and how under-appreciated they are. As the Minister knows, unpaid family carers save the State about €20 billion per year, or the equivalent of a second HSE, a point that is timely given the statements taken earlier in the House. Before I became a Deputy, I was a family carer. The carer's allowance has now increased for the second time since 2008, as the Minister noted, and I welcome that, but the allowance increased by 250% over the previous eight years, so we still have some way to go. While a €12 increase in weekly social payments may provide some relief to those receiving the carer's allowance or the carer's benefit, it falls short of Family Carers Ireland's call for both payments to be increased to €325. This increase would acknowledge the substantial and unavoidable expenses that family carers encounter.
Two further Deputies are indicating. I ask them to keep to 30 seconds each.
Both questions relate to the carer's allowance and means-testing. I am dealing with a huge number of reviews for the carer's allowance and they are being done in an incredibly intrusive way, with people being asked to submit bank statements. Instead of it being a qualification just on income grounds, they are being asked to produce bank statements, which are being returned with transactions highlighted where the Department is querying what they relate to. That is not the way to do it; it should be based on income criteria versus justifiable costs. It is incredibly demeaning for many people to have to justify each line of their bank statement.
I agree with Deputy McAuliffe. I too work with a lot of people who apply for the carer's allowance in Carlow. I live in the same area as Catherine Cox, who is a spokesperson on this issue, and the means-testing is a serious issue. Again, it involves constantly filling out forms and looking for bank statements and this, that and the other. There has to be a change of system. It is not working and it takes weeks before the applicant even gets payment. It needs to be looked at and the means-testing is a huge issue.
I want to be clear: my job in social protection is to provide people with a basic income. I cannot pay carers for the work they do; that is just the way it is. That is why I am setting up an interdepartmental group with the Department of Health in order that we can look at this whole area, have an open and frank discussion about it and see how we can adequately support carers for the work they do.
Deputy Moynihan asked how many carers who come off the carer's benefit and continue to get the carer's support grant do not get the carer's allowance. It is a fair question and I will get the figure for him. We should feed that information in when we are looking at this and I will be happy to take on board those views. If I had unlimited resources, we could do everything but, unfortunately, I have limited resources and have to target them at those who need them most. As in the case of disabilities, there are people who provide 24-7 care and there are others who have less onerous care responsibilities, but at the moment it is a flat payment. Maybe that is another question we need to look at. These are all discussions we can tease out over time.
60. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of the Disability Green Paper proposals in relation to extending the domiciliary care allowance scheme. [46398/23]
Deputy McAuliffe is taking this question.
I think Questions Nos. 60 to 62, inclusive, relate to the same issue. The Minister has discussed it in detail in the context of the straw man and the Green Paper, so I am happy to allow colleagues to use the time.
61. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection for an overview of the recent Green Paper on reform to disability payments. [46384/23]
62. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to review the criteria for qualification for the disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46230/23]
At a meeting of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters last week, we got a briefing from the Minister's officials, for which we are very grateful, on the concept of the disability Green Paper. Like everything, there are anomalies in the system, some of which relate to household income being taken into account where a person with a disability lives in the house. There is a disregard, and while it is not accounted for in the non-contributory State pension, it is accounted for in the disability allowance. A lot of discussion has to take place in regard to disability. There has been much talk about the fact that when someone who is receiving the disability allowance goes back to work, they lose their secondary benefits. We should encourage people to participate in society and in therapeutic work, where they want to, which is better for them. It is important we have a full discussion on this. I saw-----
I thank the Deputy. I am going to break the rules somewhat and let in Deputy Murnane O'Connor. There will not be a chance for the Deputies to follow up to the Minister's reply because our time is limited.
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I acknowledge the work the Minister is doing, but people coming to my office have told me the disability allowance system has shown them that an illness is nearly starting to cost them money. More than 14,300 people in Carlow were recorded as experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty in census 2022, or 23% of the county's population. That is a huge issue. Moreover, according to the same data, one in five people is unable to work due to a disability and lives in constant poverty. I know the Minister is doing her best but we see this issue daily. We are members of the disability matters committee and we talk and listen to everyone who comes before us. I acknowledge the increase in the disability allowance and I welcome that, but we need to do a lot more.
The Green Paper that I published delivers on the Government's commitment under the roadmap for social inclusion to develop and consult on proposals to restructure long-term disability payments and to simplify the system. The proposals of the Green Paper are not final; they are intended to invite discussion and debate. We recognise it is well documented that people with disabilities face additional costs and that Ireland's employment rate for people with disabilities is well below the EU average. The question is whether we should keep doing what we are doing and expect a different result or try to improve the system for people with disabilities.
There has been no reform to disability payments for decades. We have a wide range of different schemes, including disability allowance, blind pension and invalidity pension. Even "invalidity" is a word we should not use in this day and age. There are different rules and regulations across the schemes and there can often be anomalies. Where there are anomalies, people fall between the cracks.
I want to simply the system. There is a genuine aim, which is to try to make things better for people with disabilities. I will be very clear. There is no question of anybody having their payment reduced. My objective is to increase payments, not reduce them. There are a number of public consultations with disability groups. I want to hear their views. We want to come back and see how we can target the resources at those who need them most. The Cost of Disability In Ireland report is the background to the Green Paper. It recommended that the levels of payments and allowances should be changed to reflect the different costs associated with the severity and type of disability. Everybody knows that people on disability payments range across a wide spectrum of capabilities from those that have profound physical and intellectual difficulties and face significant extra costs to those who have less restrictive conditions. This is a difficult and sensitive subject. I understand that. I could put my head in the sand and not deal with it. However, I genuinely want to try to make life better for people and give them more opportunities. It is out for public consultation and I am happy to hear Deputies' views on it. This Green Paper is not in any way set in stone. It is out for discussion. Deputies should feel free to give their views, and I am happy to work with them.
