Labour will abolish the Means Test and deliver a New Social Contract for Carers

23 November 2024
  • Abolish the Carer’s Allowance means test and increase Support Grant to €2,500.
  • Over time increase the half rate Carer’s Allowance to a full payment to recognise the unpaid work of family carers.
  • Fully fund the Carer’s Guarantee and develop a new respite strategy to guarantee access for all family carers.
  • Legislate for a statutory home support service and reverse the privatisation of home care and nursing home care by expanding state provision.
  • Value Care Workers by ensuring better pay and conditions across the sector.

Kildare South candidate Senator Mark Wall today launched Labour’s plans to support family carers, abolish the means test and recognise their unpaid work.

Labour’s new Social Contract for Care sets out our clear mission to support families, value care workers, and reverse the privatisation of social care.

Senator Wall said:

“There are over 500,000 family carers in Ireland and their unpaid work saves the state over €20 billion a year. Labour has long campaigned for change, advocating for family carers and care workers in the Dáil and Seanad, and we’ve seen our proposals ignored by the last government. Real change is urgently needed over the next five years.

“Labour has a comprehensive plan to support family carer’s, care workers and deliver a new social contract. If elected to government, we will:

  • Abolish the Carer’s Allowance means test and develop a new Family Carer Payment.
  • Gradually increasing the half-rate Carer’s Allowance, recognising the invaluable contribution of carers, starting with pensioners.
  • Increase the Carer’s Support Grant to €2,500 and ensure all who qualify receive the Carer’s Allowance payment.
  • Expand work and study hours for carers, providing much needed flexibility.
  • Implement a comprehensive Respite Strategy to ensure accessible and reliable respite care for all families who need it.
  • Reform the Domiciliary Care Allowance application and appeals process and increase the payment by €20 every year.
  • Fully fund the Carer’s Guarantee to ensure access to health and social supports.
  • Provide increased supports to Foster Carer’s and kinship care.

“Our new Social Contract for Care also outlines further commitments to carers on benefits, tax credits, transport, and other supports.

“Labour will also introduce a statutory home support service with a minimum of over one million new hours of home help a year. We will expand HSE provision of home support with annual targets to reduce the reliance on private providers and put in place a place to increase the provision of long-term residential care.

“Labour will reform the Fair Deal Scheme to give people the option of remaining in their home, with the state contributing to their care costs, and carefully consider the recommendations of the Commission on Care when these are published. We are committed to develop a National Planning Unit for Care to oversee all aspects of care planning, implementation, and the de-privatisation of care services.

“As the party of work, we will ensure care workers in the home support and nursing home sectors are valued and set up Joint Labour Committees to negotiate Fair Pay Agreements. These will provide for binding minimum rates of pay to address recruitment and retention challenges and ring-fenced state funding for both home care (HCSAs) and nursing home health care assistants.

“Our Labour mission is clear – to create a society that values care and invests in services that support people from cradle to grave, ensuring access to quality care for all when they need it. We will phase out the over-reliance on for-profit care services, reversing the detrimental outsourcing of essential public services and expand community nursing homes and respite services.”

ENDS

Labour’s New Social Contract on Care is available here: A-New-Social-Contract-for-Care.pdf

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