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Under Pressure Carers Slam Pay-Outs To Govt Ministers

Thursday, 1 December 2011

CARERS in Offaly have spelled out the difficulties they face in advance of a budget which could see cuts in their entitlements.
In a meeting with Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan in Tullamore last week, the carers hit out at delays in the processing of applications, complained about the pensions for former Ministers and said that proper equipment was still not being provided for some sufferers of Parkinsons.
Carers receive a maximum payment of between €200 and €239 a week for what is sometimes around the clock work for an elderly person.
One carer told Deputy Flanagan last Friday that if cuts are going to be made, the Government should first look at the 'pay-outs' it is itself making.
'We see the Ministers getting big pay-outs when they're retiring, like Willie Penrose, for eight months' service, he would have got €30,000, would you not start there?' said the carer.
Deputy Flanagan agreed that it was 'an issue'. 'The reform of how we do our business is something I spoke about during the (election) campaign. We will be cutting the number of TDs, already the salaries have been cut, the conditions have been cut, the pension entitlements have been changed,' said Deputy Flanagan.
On the question of Deputy Penrose, the junior Minister from Westmeath who resigned recently because of the Government decision to close the army barracks in Mullingar, Deputy Flanagan said: 'I don't wish to talk about any individual, Willie can talk for himself and account for his pension, he resigned. I would prefer to stay in as part of supporting the Government rather than resign.'
The carer continued to press the Fine Gael deputy. 'There are others who retire in their early 50s and they're getting big payouts. There's a lot of money there and this is coming from taxpayers,' she said.
Deputy Flanagan replied: 'That is changed now. For TDs, any TD will only qualify for a pension from the age of 65 and anyone who is younger than that will not qualify for the pension until they reach the age of 65, or the pension age, which by the time I'm 65, could be 67 or 68.'
'I'm conscious of what you're saying and I do believe that example should be shown by those in authority and that's why I didn't have any difficulty with a pay cut.'
Deputy Flanagan also commented: 'As regards the bigger pensions for people who retired after the election. That was in place, the legal provision was in place. There is nothing illegal about it. However I have to accept that it's an issue where there are strong opinions from the public and I have relayed that to Enda Kenny.'
When he was challenged on how difficult it can be for some applicants who are caring for their parents at home to qualify for the carers allowance, Deputy Flanagan agreed that there was a difficulty with the existing income guidelines.
'I would be anxious that you would take into account the fixed outgoings which would be standard, like mortgage repayments, if that would be done at assessment stage,' he said.
'I do think the deciding officers should have a great level of discretion to deal with cases that are causing problems. I would continue to ask the Minister to look at that with particular reference to carers because there's a difficulty with the rigid application of the criteria that apply.'
He said he was aware the Carers Association is seeking the abolition of the means test for the carers allowance but he said the Government will not be taking that step.
'That's going to be very difficult to do and I wouldn't like to say it will be done under current circumstances. But I think if you can't do that, and I accept it won't be done, what you do is try and chip away at other stumbling blocks or impediments, like a family member working at home who has income and how you can increase the income disregard,' said Deputy Flanagan.
'We've seen an easing of the means test over the years. It's fair to say that compared to other social welfare payments it's somewhat less onerous. Since April 2008 the income disregard has been €332.50 a week for a single person and €665 for a married couple so a couple with two children can earn in the region of €35,500 and qualify for the maximum rate of carers (allowance),' he said.
One woman told Deputy Flanagan that she is caring for her 82-year-old mother who has Parkinsons.
She gets one week respite care in every six at Riada House in Tullamore and uses that week to catch up on all the work she cannot do when she is caring for her mother.
The carer also said she had a particular difficulty in sourcing a suitable chair for her mother.
Deputy Flanagan was also told that occupational therapists (OT's) are sometimes unable to assist carers because they do not have the correct experience.
'You're talking about sending out OT girls. I don't know what experience they have. You have to be with a patient to really understand. You know what she needs,' said the carer.
'Why send out an OT that hasn't been with a Parkinsons patient? It doesn't make sense. They do have the training but they don't have the experience. The carer should be allowed go in and see for herself what's suitable.'
One carer also told Deputy Flanagan that she recently received an email in reply to an application for a carers allowance stating that the authorities were only now dealing with cases dating from last May.
The Government TD said such delays were 'highly unsatisfactory'. 'It's not something that's peculiar or particular to carers. It's right across the board in terms of pensions, all sorts of applications. There's duplication,' he said.
He recommended the establishment of a 'one-stop-shop' for all such applications, especially now when databases existed which could be shared.
'There's too much duplication. You get a form now for a welfare entitlement and it could be 20 or 25 pages. You apply for a medical card and you answer the same questions again and send it to a different office. You apply for another benefit and it's a big form and it goes to somewhere else as well,' said Deputy Flanagan.
'It's a total lack of coordination and that's why with the advances in technology, with computers and email and the data revolution, there's a lot to be said for having a one-stop-shop which deals with it all. You've one PPS number, you've one date of birth, and it's possible to have a data bank of information to cut out the duplication.'
Deputy Flanagan said he knew that the Minister for Social Protection, Ms Joan Burton TD, would have to make substantial savings but he pledged to fight for the retention of carers' allowances and benefits.
He said he believed millions could be saved if welfare fraud was tackled properly and said it should be ploughed back into frontline services.
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