Budget 2027
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
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Seamus Healy (IND), Tipperary South

In the run-up to general election in 2024, every party in this House, including Fianna Fáil, made a commitment to abolish the means test for carers. It was not to be abolished over the lifetime of the Government or in two, three or four years. The commitment was to abolish the means test. That commitment was broken last year. From what the Minister said, it sounds as if we will have a similar situation this year. The fact is that, as the Minister is aware, the 500,000 carers we have save the State something like €20 billion per year. They are paid a very low hourly rate. Broken down, it amounts to €1.60 per hour. A survey shows that 75% of carers get no respite, 49% suffer from severe loneliness and 32% suffer from very bad mental health. There were increases in the income limits in this year's budget, and they are welcome, but they do not solve the problem. The moneys needed to do this are not significant. Both the Parliamentary Budget Office and Family Carers Ireland indicate that the sum involved is less than €400 million. I suggest that the Minister should honour the commitment in the forthcoming budget.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-24