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THE NUMBER OF people in receipt of a carer’s allowance has increased from 23,000 in 2004 to close to 57,200 at the end of last month - an increase of 40%.
Collectively, carers will receive €806 million in payments this year. It is estimated that there are 187,000 family carers in Ireland.
Nearly 25,000 people are in receipt of a carer’s payment at “half rate” as they are also in receipt of another social welfare payment.
For example, a lone parent who is caring on a full-time basis for an elderly relative can receive €219.80 in one-parent family payment and €102 per week in half-rate carer’s allowance.
There are currently 3,500 carer’s allowance applications awaiting approval.
Social Protection Minister Joan Burton informed the Dáil of the figures last week.
She was responding to a parliamentary question posed by Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea, in which he asked her what she intends to do to help carers affected by the cut in the respite grant last year.
O’Dea said that for every euro the State spends on carers, it gets back about €5.
“The value of the total caring done in this country is estimated to be between €4.5 billion and €5 billion,” he stated.
Burton said that she did not know what changes the next budget would hold for carers.
There are no commitments at this time in relation to any particular group in respect of the budget.
She added that there was “a slight tone of irony” in O’Dea’s comments as he was a member of the government that “cut the weekly payment to carers by approximately €16.40 per week … that is €850-plus per annum”.
O’Dea said Burton was “trying to avoid answering the question” and noted that she had overseen a weekly cut of €6.50 in the allowance.
Burton noted: “The current payment of €1,375 per annum is more than twice the amount of €635 per annum paid in 2002 by the previous Government, of which Deputy O’Dea was a member, and is higher than it was at the height of the boom in 2006, when it was €1,200 per annum.”
O’Dea remarked that Burton was “well aware that everybody who is in receipt of a carer’s allowance is automatically entitled to the respite care grant”.
Thus, when the respite care grant is cut, that represents a cut in the core rate of social welfare. Regardless of how the Minister juggles it up, that is the reality.
He went on to say that Burton had “successfully fooled”, “conned” and “hoodwinked” the public.
The social protection minister said that recipients of the carer’s allowance also “qualify for free travel and, if they are living with the person they are caring for, the household benefits package”.
She noted that payment of the annual non-means-tested respite care grant commenced recently, saying that more than 70,000 carers would receive a total of approximately €122 million this year.
On Friday, O’Dea launched Fianna Fáil’s position paper on carers. The document proposed a series of recommendations, including a re-examination of the Household Benefits Packages; changes to the prescription charge and the re-introduction of a Mobility Allowance.
The average wait time for appealing a decision made by the social welfare related to respite care grants is just over 14 months, or 61.8 weeks. The average wait time in 2013 was 24.6 weeks.
People Before Profit TD Joan Collins asked Burton if she is “satisfied with the processing times for current social welfare payments that require a medical assessment”.
Collins stated:
Almost everybody who comes to my office in regard to this problem has been waiting six, seven, eight or nine months or even longer for the claim to be dealt with. The complicated nature of the application is causing huge problems for people and for submitting their information. What does the Minister plan to do to address this?
As of the end of April, the average wait times in weeks for the four main schemes involving a medical assessment were as follows:
Disability Allowance: 11
Carers Allowance: 12
Invalidity Pension: 9
Domiciliary Care: 10
“These processing times are a significant improvement over previous processing times and the numbers of people awaiting a decision at the time when I came into office. The average number of weeks to decide on a new carer’s allowance application has decreased from approximately 26 weeks at that time to a current average of 12 weeks,” Burton noted.
She added that a total of €3.4 billion was spent on illness, disability and caring schemes in 2013, including a total of €2.5 billion on the four schemes listed above.
“There are currently approximately 3,500 carer’s allowance applications awaiting decision. The equivalent number in 2012 was 11,600,” Burton stated.
Collins said that “several things would facilitate a quicker turnaround of claims, one of which would be simpler application forms”.
Another would be if someone were to sit down with people and tell them exactly what was required from their doctor in terms of medical evidence. When a doctor writes to the panel and verifies that a person is disabled, very ill and that his or her condition will not improve, the panel should accept this, rather than refusing the application.
Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh noted that in the past “up to 50% of the original decisions by social welfare deciding officers were overturned on appeal”.
Over 150 events took place last week to mark National Carers Week.
On Monday, the Neurological Alliance of Ireland and Care Alliance Ireland published the results of a nationwide survey on carers.
Of the 170 people questioned, 82% said they had been affected by cuts to home care packages over the past three years. Some 77% said they had been impacted by cuts to respite services and 70% by cuts to home help.
Just over four in ten of the respondents had given up work to look after a person with a neurological condition.
Over one fifth of carers who took part in the survey said they could not access any respite services.
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Many people could have their summer holidays ruined now. I hope not.
@Sean Money: A summer holiday is not an entitlement, you’d swear it was these days the way folks go on about them. I’ve had my share don’t get me wrong from 5* down. Waste of money mostly and tremendously polluting action to take that takes money out of our economy. I refuse to fly now and regret my additions to the environmental catastrophe that pollution brings about. The benefit is not worth the cost!
@Chutes: I’d say you’re great craic at the Christmas party.
@Chutes: No it isn’t and entitlement, most people work hard to save up and go on them. Especially hard on the back of the cost of living and being taxed as if there wasn’t just 20% inflation over a few years.
@Billy Hayes: Would depend on the crowd.
@Chutes: people save all year for a few nice days in the sun. If the pilots ruin this chasing the money shame on them.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: That doesn’t really address the point other than to question the worth of a holiday even more.
@Sean Money: People save all year for a ruined holiday, that’s nothing more than a bad investment. Life is tough!
@Chutes: people are entitled to use the flights they paid for and that AL marketed.
@Sean Money: here we go. Blaming the pilots. How about the company ingesting massive profits and not paying their workers fairly? Aer Lingus could stop any strike tomorrow. Solidarity with the pilots and I say that as someone whose holiday could be affected
@Sean Money: I’d argue shame on their management. There’s probably been alot of negotiations leading up to this point. These lads took a huge hit for the company during COVID. Things are booming again, huge profits, future growth and management are offering less than 10%…. I’ve been laughing at the lines they’re coming out with on the news interviews to try to push blame onto the pilots and try to get the public on their side. All IR games. Aerlingus management have got themselves to this point. Best of luck to the pilots!
@Sandra Molloy: That’s a reasonable argument ignoring the larger point but yes in theory then they should side with the pilots imo. Peoples pay needs to reflect the cost of living, companies and corporations make massive shareholder profits for the rich which goes largely untaxed at a fair rate convincing people like you that they work hard and therefor deserve a break. Fk the environment right, because ur worth it!
@Chutes: It is an entitlement. But an earned one. And what is wrong with that? Nothing. A simple summer holiday, lovely stuff. Maybe you should try a ‘holiday’ in North Korea. Re: the plane; it’s gonna take off anyways.
@Chutes: Yep… You do your bit for the environment and stay home while we fly away for two or more weeks living it up. The environment and the plane taking off are going to happen regardless. Ireland’s naive contribution affects not a jot the planets environment.
@Keth Tgi: Ah yes, the old ‘why bother’ chestnut. In my time I have ‘lived it up’ more than the average bear, it no longer excites. Some get sense as they age, some do not.
@Keth Tgi: “It is an entitlement. But an earned one.” Indeed, always earned on someone else’s back!
@Chutes: Trolling hard today Chutes!!! What’s the story with your avatar pic?!?! Were you/are you a pilot?
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: Nah, aircraft mechanic, flight simulator nerd.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: These are my genuinely held beliefs. I’m not into bllsht in general, I don’t see it as constructive. I tend to break arguments down to their most basic truths as I see them. I ignore the rest. There’s a time and a place, it’s just not here imo.
@Chutes: “There’s a time and a place”?!?!…. Coming in all high and mighty saying holidays are not an entitlement when people are facing their hard earned holidays being cancelled isn’t really the time or the place, just so you can go on with an eco warrior stance….. You’re better than us holiday goers chutes, you care more about the planet, your views are gospel sage one, good man….. We get it….. You’re more into bllsht than you think!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: That’s the nature of disagreement, I judge your commentary, you judge mine.
Your judgement is flawed imo, mine flawed in yours.
What is the opposite of the ‘eco-warrior’ you adjudge me to be?
@M To The B: not paying their workers fairly, are you on drugs,check out how much the pilots earn and get back to me
@Chutes: please stay where you are like a good lad will ya ! You’d ruin anyone’s holiday God forbid if they were crammed in beside ya on a flight
@John McG: Enjoy ur hols!
Sounds like Air Lingus are trying to find a technicality to delay a strike rather than just sitting down and discussing in the hope of averting it altogether. I can’t see this move going down well with the union. I suspect once the ballot results are in that notice will be served nearly immediately. If it’s true that they haven’t had any pay increase in 5 years then I don’t think their ask is unreasonable given that most public sector employees have seen their wages rise by over 20% in the last 5 years albeit in smaller doses, but it’s the same result.
@Unridden Ana: yeah, at 98% for strike it’s a just delay tactic for the inevitable. I find it funny on the news their management stating that conducting a ballot during talks isn’t welcome….. Sure they’ve gotten to the point of balloting after being at the Labour courts…. I’d assume there has been plenty of talks to date on it going back many months if not years….. All a media game now. Fair play to the pilots!
@Unridden Ana: plenty of low to middle income earners both public and private sectors have NOT got 20% over 5yrs
AL pilots are just greedy feckers, most already earn €150k
@Brian Guilfoyle: Incorrect, Public sector have gotten a lot of increases since 2019, close to 20 percent under the current agreements! I’d say many private sector have too, you just don’t hear about it….. I wouldn’t fancy landing a 70 tonne aircraft in crap Irish weather and being responsible for hundreds of lives daily. High wages for a big job at the airport….. Nothing wrong with them trying to protect their wages during massive inflation while their company is very profitable and expanding. Greedy Aerlingus management in my view! (I’m not a pilot)
@Brian Guilfoyle: not correct. Look up CSO figures. The average wage increase since 2019 across all employees in Ireland is 24%. Aer lingus have given their pilots 0% in that timeframe. So what if they are already well paid? Does that mean they shouldn’t get the same wage increases as the average worker?
@Unridden Ana: As you yourself note, average doesn’t mean that everyone gets a raise. I wouldn’t go as far as to argue that everyone deserves a raise, but looking at increasing numbers of homeless *families*, there is something seriously wrong with the distribution of income and those raises.
I do also wonder if CSO statistics (you didn’t mention which report you’re quoting) include gig economy and agency workers which, among other things, can’t even take an industrial action lest they’d have their contracts summarily and unfortunately legally terminated.
Now, I don’t agree with Brian’s assertion of pilots being greedy for sake of asking for a raise on account of earning more than your local unemployed-but-working Deliveroo driver. I’d rather see Deliveroo drivers employed and with an effective right of taking industrial action than blaming those who have and are taking advantage of the right to withdraw work.
Yeah … I’m a leftie liberal who believes that withdrawing or threatening to withdraw work to bargain for better conditions is a right of every employee. Be it payed 10k or 100k. Now, if they’re stupid enough to sink the company they work for and ending up unemployed as a result, that’s on them. But commonly, if they’re treated as equal partners at the bargaining table, strikes rarely happen. It’s just that some owners of the means of production don’t seem to appreciate that those means also need staff. Marx wrote about it and last time I checked, pizzas and burgers aren’t being delivered by drones and planes are not flying themselves.
In all the media coverage on the radio, TV and online regarding this issue of pilots pay at Aer Lingus – I haven’t seen one piece of decent journalism as to how the current pilots pay at Aer Lingus compares to how pilots with other airlines like Ryanair or other European Airlines.
@Chaotic State: Their main competitors to the US out of Dublin: Delta, American and United are on about double what Aer Lingus are on.
@Chaotic State: I totally agree. Aer Lingus pilots are compairing themselves with the earnings of pilots in other European airlines, such as Air France, BA etc 5 years ago BA, (another AIG group member) gave it’s pilots a 24% payrise. They were already paid more than the Aer Lingus pilots before their pay rise. Now the AL pilots are paid substantialy less than their contemporaries in the other AIG airlines.
Most of the reporting has been focused on the very top earners within the pilot body, instead of the 85% of pilots who are not being paid competitively.
Aer Lingus often has to cancel flights it has sold because it doesn’t have enough pilots to operate them, and then complains that pilots don’t volunteer to work on their days off!
Increased profits, dividends and management “compensation” but increased pay for pilots only if they agree to “productivity” changes.
Then they look for 15 days notice to avoid having to pay compensation to passengers.
A right shower.
No better way to get bumped up a few incriment scales and more allowances than to threaten to down tools just before the busiest time of the year. Fair play to them. Can’t fly planes without them. Wish I had power like that in my job. Some of my Coworkers are too lazy to scratch themselves.
Aer Lingus changed their livery to an all white fuselage with green tail & logo to match their sister airlines Vueling, Iberia & Level. All 4 airlines have the same livery with different coloured tail sections. Switching an aircraft from 1 livery to another is cheaper & faster now if the need arises so one company could ‘lease’ aircraft from one to another if needed. Aer Lingus are also requesting 15 days notice instead of the agreed 7 if a vote in favour of a stike goes ahead. You can be sure Aer Lingus have a card up their sleeve – this could go wrong for the pilots. But I’m just spitballing – I could be wrong too.
@Billy Hayes: Around 100 daily departures from Dublin will be a tough one for their management to get around. Heard it’s all to do with offering refund as opposed to compensation to passengers with 2 weeks notice.
Did the pilots agree to terms of employment when accepting their jobs?
@Sun Rise: A bit like how the government agreed that USC was only temporary but then also changed their minds when it suited. That’s the way things go.
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