The Working Group on Long Term Care was established in 2005 to identify the policy options for a financially sustainable system of long-term care. It comprises senior officials from the Departments of Finance, Health and Children and my Department. The report of that working group has influenced recent Budgets and the national partnership agreement Towards 2016. The Department of Health and Children published the report on its website in January 2008.
Towards 2016 includes a commitment to a study of the extent to which children undertake inappropriate care roles in order to establish the extent and degree to which this issue arises and the levels of impact it has on the lives of children concerned. The Office of the Minister for Children, which has the lead role in relation to this study, has invited tenders for a research project on mechanisms to identify young carers aged 5-17 years and the positive and negative impact of caring on their lives and to make recommendations for ways in which they can be assisted. Officials from my Department have been working closely with that Office in that regard. It is expected that the study will begin in July 2008.
I am aware of the particular difficulties faced by young carers and I accept that special help, advice and support are essential for young carers in particular and that services must be put in place to support the household and to ensure that young carers remain at school. These include the services of home helps, public health nurses and home care packages generally, which are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children.
The Department provides income support to carers by way of carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant. The respite care grant, which is an annual payment for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention, is payable from age 16. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means or social insurance contributions but subject to certain qualifying conditions. From June 2008 the value of the grant was increased to €1,700 per year in respect of each care recipient. Carer's allowance, which provides income support to people who are providing full time care and attention to a person in need of such care and whose incomes fall below a certain limit, is payable from age 18.
I am always prepared to consider changes to existing arrangements where these are for the benefit of recipients and financially sustainable within the resources available. However, I consider that it is through the provision of health and education services rather than income that we can best support young carers.