Deputy Smyth is a representative of a Border constituency, the same as I am, so she will very much understand this particular issue. A constituent of mine called Majella contacted me. She was born in Leitrim and lived there practically all of her life. She started her career working in the health services. Then she married a man from Fermanagh and moved six miles up the road. She continued to cross the Border every day to work and worked all her life. Now her mother has become ill towards the end of her life and needs care. Majella got carer's benefit based on the stamps she had accumulated during her working life. However, after 104 weeks she was told to apply for the carer's allowance, which is not stamps based but assessed. When she applied she was refused because of the habitual residency condition as she does not live within the State. This is very unfair. It is an anomaly that comes up for a tiny number of people in certain circumstances who are living in the Border area. People in these circumstances are not travelling 50 or 100 miles to care for somebody. It is only people in a small corridor that this would affect. In that context, resolving this issue would not result in a big cost to the State. This needs to happen as quickly as possible.
Sentiment score: 0.06
I thank the Minister of State. I am aware of all of these circumstances. Yes, there is a payment in the North but the person who is living in the North and can apply for the carer's benefit in the North has to be caring for a person in that jurisdiction.
Sentiment score: 0.41
The fact that they live in two different jurisdictions, although they are only a couple of miles apart, is what gives rise to this peculiarity. This is a carer's case. There are other similar cases where habitual residency comes into play which may affect people's pensions and things like that on both sides of the Border. These are small numbers. We are talking about dozens of people in total. It is something that should be looked at across the whole social welfare code to see if a number of small statutory instruments or amendments can be put in to deal with these circumstances and to sort them out for the people involved. As I say, they are very small numbers. We are talking about people who have, generally, paid into the State because they have been working on this side of the Border. As we know, many people live in the South and work in the North, or live in the North and work in the South. It happens all the time up and down across the Border region. Sometimes, people have two jobs - one in the North and one in the South. It depends on those circumstances. In all of those situations, all we need to do is put something into the regulation that takes care of the problem we have and deals with it efficiently and effectively. This can be done very speedily. I ask the Minister to look at it between now and Christmas and come up with something to resolve the situation before the new year. Go raibh maith agaibh.
Sentiment score: 0.12
She married the wrong man-----
Sentiment score: -0.48
-----on the wrong side of the Border.
Sentiment score: -0.48