Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Carer's Allowance.

Mr. Barrett

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me the opportunity to raise this important issue. The Minister, through you, will note that my request refers to the entitlement to carer's allowance for those in receipt of retirement contributory pensions. I recently had a case where this issue came to light. It is outrageous that someone who has contributed through the State for over 40 years to a retirement pension cannot receive two social welfare payments. A contributory pension belongs to the person who paid for it. Someone receiving the same amount of money from a private pension qualifies for a carer's allowance. It is outrageous that someone who gives money to the State to protect his or her interests on retirement cannot get their rights in terms of the carer's allowance.

Upon reaching retirement age, a person rightly receives a retirement pension. If that person decides to work somewhere, he retains his contributory pension. That proves that it is not a benefit. It is a pension to which he has contributed and to which he is entitled. If he wants to work by looking after an elderly relative, which is work in itself, the State says he cannot have his pension or else he will have to forego the carer's allowance. That does not make sense. I would understand if a person was receiving a non-contributory pension. In those circumstances the point could be argued that they are in receipt a social welfare payment but not when the pension in question is contributory.

I am sorry the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs is not here because the example I will give relates to a couple living in his constituency. I received the complaint through a solicitor in my constituency who feels very strongly about this. The couple in question are both over 70 years of age and the lady is looking after her deaf and dumb cousin. There is no one else to look after him. They applied and received notification from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs telling them that they qualified for a carer's allowance at the rate of £75.70 per week from Thursday 23 April 1999. The letter informed them, however, that they were in receipt of retirement pension at the weekly rate of £83 and that they could not get a carer's allowance while they were in receipt of a retirement pension.

I have laid out the arguments as to why people should qualify but this lady is working on behalf of the State. She is looking after a deaf and dumb cousin who is over 70 years of age. If she was not doing that, he would be in a home for which the State would have to pay considerably more than the miserly sum we would give her for looking after this cousin.

The income limit to qualify for a carer's allowance at that time was £6,000 and the retirement pension is well below that figure. The only thing stopping that lady from getting the carer's allowance is this argument that the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the Minister regard a contributory retirement pension as a social welfare benefit. It is not a social welfare benefit.

I am asking, therefore, that those in receipt of contributory pensions who go through all the due processes and are told by the Department, as this person was, that they qualify for a carer's allowance should get it. If this continues the State will face a much higher bill for someone who has to go into a home because he or she cannot be cared for within the family set up.

It is time this was sorted out. I tabled a parliamentary question and received the standard reply. There was a ray of hope in the reply that the Department was examining the matter and there was a possibility that a new payment could be introduced. I hope the Minister will confirm in his reply that people similar to the couple I described will get what they are entitled to from the State and we will recognise that people who contribute for more than 40 years to a fund for a pension from the State are entitled to other benefits. If I retire at 65 and draw my pension, I can take up another job and retain that pension, so why do I not get the carer's allowance?

Mr. Jacob

I thank Deputy Barrett for raising this important issue. All of us come across such cases in our constituencies.

The purpose of the carer's allowance is to provide a means-tested income support payment to those who are caring full-time and who are on low incomes.

As part of the Government's commitment to carers, as set out in An Action Programme for the Millennium, an overall review of the carer's allowance was completed by an interdepartmental committee, chaired by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, and was published in October 1998. Arising from this review, Deputy Dermot Ahern introduced major improvements to the carer's allowance scheme in the 1999 and 2000 Budgets.

At the end of May 2000, there were 15,380 carer's allowances in payment. When this Government came to office three years ago, there were approximately 9,500 people in receipt of carer's allowance. This represents an increase of more than 60% in the number of carers claiming the allowance during that period. Again, when this Government came to office in 1997, expenditure on carer's allowance was £36.5 million and is projected to be £78.3 million this year, an increase of 115%.

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. The review of the carer's allowance examined the question of paying the carer's allowance in conjunction with another social welfare payment. It noted that the allowance is an income support payment and not a payment for caring. As indicated, the practice of paying only one allowance is a feature, with very few exceptions, of all social welfare payments and is designed to ensure that limited resources are not used to make two income support payments to any one individual.

The review concluded that this practice should continue. A person qualifying for two social welfare payments will always receive the higher payment to which they are entitled.

The review proposed 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 envis aged 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.

In order 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 the Minister for Health and Children. The Western Health Board agreed to undertake this pilot project in its area and that the results of this study will be available shortly.

In the review of An Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government also pledged to put in place a co-ordinated approach addressing the needs of carers. One of the key priorities is to develop a partnership model to facilitate the development by the State, in conjunction with the private sector, of an improved system for meeting long-term care costs.

To this end, one of the remaining proposals arising from the review of the carer's allowance will be examined this year. A consultancy study will be undertaken to examine issues relating to long-term care, both in terms of cost and possible partnership approaches and the possible role of the PRSI system in this regard. The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, also announced in Budget 2000 the introduction of the new carer's benefit scheme which recognises that leaving employment to provide care is a contingency broadly similar to other contingencies under the social insurance code and, as such, the benefit will fill a gap in the social insurance system. The new carer's benefit scheme, which will be of 15 months duration, 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.

The scheme involves two central elements. The first is a weekly income support payment to be operated and paid by the Department. This will be based on PRSI contributions paid by the carer. The second is the protection of the carer's employment rights for the duration of the caring period. The carer's benefit scheme will come into effect from October.

The question of further improvements to the carer's allowance and for carers generally will be considered in a budgetary context, taking account of the Government's key priorities in the care area, as set out in the review of the action programme. The Deputy's salient point was that a contributory pension should not be deemed to be a social welfare payment. I will bring that point to the attention of the Minister.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.11 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 21 June 2000.