Long-term carers to be 'rewarded and recognised' with pension entitlements
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People who have been caring for disabled children or other loved ones for more than 20 years are to receive pension entitlements under new changes.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys is bringing forward legislation to provide pensions for long-term carers when they retire.
"This particularly applies to mothers who have looked after children with severe disabilities, they found themselves that they had to give up work. Now we're going to make provision so that they will get a pension when they retire," Ms Humphreys said.
Welcoming the change, Family Carers Ireland head of communications and policy Catherine Cox said it means carers' contributions will be "rewarded and recognised".
But Ms Cox also reiterated Family Carers Ireland's call for a full review of the way Carer's Allowance is means tested.
Confirming that she will be bringing the measure to Cabinet today, the Minister said:
She added that there is "already a system in place" for those who act as carers for less than 20 years.
"They are already being taken care of through the system that we have, so what I wanted to do tomorrow is to look at the long-term carers who have been carrying all their lives."
Ms Humphreys also confirmed that she will be bringing a memo to allow for increases to PRSI.
As part of October's Budget, it was announced that employers and employees would face a 0.1% increase in social taxes (PRSI) from October 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, Ms Humphreys will bring details of a new "fairer" pay-related benefit for people who are made redundant, which will be "commensurate" with the salary a person was on before they lost their job.
"What that means is that if you are made unemployed, you will receive an enhanced payment on a tapered basis. We're one of the outliers in Europe in terms of our job seekers' support because we have one flat rate payment at the minute."
The change will require legislation, which Ms Humphreys is seeking approval to draft the new laws from her Cabinet colleagues.
"We have seen a number of redundancies recently where you had workers on salaries of possibly €800 or €900 and they found themselves on a flat rate payment of €220, which is the payment for everybody across the board."