The Green Party’s Carlow-Kilkenny candidate Malcolm Noonan was joined in Kilkenny today by Party leader Roderic O’Gorman to launch the Green Party’s Cost of Living Plan. A cornerstone of the plan is the Green Party’s proposal to introduce a Basic Income for Carers, which Minister O'Gorman said approximately 80,000 carers would benefit from.
Speaking at the launch at Kilkenny Castle, Minister Noonan said: “Carers provide billions of euros of support to our society but they are not properly recognised. We want to provide real recognition to carers and the contribution they make, so we're looking to put in place a basic income for carers.
“During our time in government, my colleague, Catherine Martin, introduced a ground-breaking basic income scheme for artists. She did this in recognition of the immense value that artists bring to our lives, often without proper compensation or reward. We in the Greens feel the exact same way about carers.”
He added: “Shortfalls in state support can cause undue economic and personal stress for carers, which is something I’ve been hearing on the doors and at clinics here in Carlow-Kilkenny. It's time to put measures in place that show that as a society we value and care for our carers."
Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman explained that the payment would be delivered in such a way as to ensure that no carer sees a reduction in their existing level of support from the State.
"We will keep carer’s allowance in place but make a weekly payment of €325 available to all carers. They will have the choice of sticking with the existing carer’s allowance or benefit payment if they qualify for it, or switching to this new non-means tested basic income for carers. This will result in a significant uplift in payment for some carers.
"For instance, a working-age carer, looking after one person, who is currently in receipt of the full carer’s allowance payment, will see a €77 increase in their weekly payment. People who currently do not qualify for carer’s allowance because their income is too high will get the full benefit of €325 per week. We estimate that approximately 80,000 carers will benefit from this policy. This is how the Green Party would ensure that carers’ work is given the real, meaningful recognition that it deserves.”
Outlining additional measure in the plan, which would help individuals and families with day-to-day costs on things like transport, health and home heating, Minister Noonan explained it was important for Government to implement measures to put money back in people's pockets immediately, but vital to look at implementing long-term cost-of-living measures that will provide stability over the next five years.
“We fought really hard for all of those long-term cost-of-living measures that we have had over the last five years,” he said. “The cuts to public transport, the halving of childcare costs and the massive retrofit programme were all Green Party initiatives. We want to continue this and we can only do that by being in government - we want to roll up our sleeves and get the work done.”
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