Independent Ireland had asked the Government that there would be no means test for carers. It said that there should no means test for carers for one very good reason: how can you put a price on care? People are coming into people's homes for an hour. They are driving ten miles, driving to different parts of the county and giving an hour to a family member. The statistics show that with the way the birth rate is going at the moment, we will not have the population to care for the older generation - maybe in two decades' time when the Minister of State and I will be looking for care. There will be no carers if the Government disincentivises them now. I was very lucky that my father was cared for at home. As a family, we cared for him but we also had carers who came in to help us. They came in and lit a fire while we were out. They came in and did the basic things. From a security point of view, he knew they were coming, what time they were coming at and he knew everything about it. They became part of the family. To me, carers are family. They are looking after our loved ones in their homes, in their own environment, and in the years when they need it most. These people who looked after us and gave us benefits to make sure we could rear our own families. They paid their taxes, worked hard and looked after us as a generation. The least we can do is provide them with care in their own homes. A woman I know very well from my parish phoned me. She has to drive to the Kerry border every day to look after her father because they cannot get a carer. That is what she has to do. They cannot get the adequate hours. She is trying to work in between doing that and being a mother. She is trying to run all of this because we cannot get the carers. We talk about nursing homes. People have called me trying to get people in for nursing care. They cannot get into places because they are full. Why are we putting an obstacle in the way, stopping people being cared for in their own homes? If we took in the financial aspect of it, it makes economic sense for them to be cared for in their own homes if it is possible to do so. It costs the State less to have them cared for in their own homes. Why are we putting an obstacle in the way of care when the Government itself cannot provide it? We do not have the staff for it. We do not have the infrastructure in place for it. Independent Ireland started by saying that it did not want carers to be means tested. Yet, they are getting letters now from the tax office. They are calling me asking what the letters are about. The letters are hostile. Anyone who gets a letter from the tax man says they are hostile. It puts the fear of God in them. We are saying to the carers to go out and care but we are going to frighten the life out of them in case they have a dot out of place. There is no price on care. Remember that for our own families. Would you not love to see your parents being cared for properly in the confines of their homes? We have had it. Why are we not giving the opportunities to other people to have the same?

Sentiment score: 0.09