Fianna Fáil 'committed' to removing means testing for carers’ allowance, says Tánaiste

Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has committed to the abolition of means testing for the carers’ allowance, and has said the establishment of a national disability therapy service in-situ in schools will be a “red line” for his party in government.

Mr Martin was speaking to press on Saturday after a canvass in Blackpool Shopping Centre with Cork North Central candidate Tony Fitzgerald.

The Tánaiste was asked repeatedly about an encounter on Friday evening in Kanturk between Taoiseach Simon Harris and Charlotte Fallon, who works with St Joseph’s Foundation.

During the exchange, the Fine Gael leader was accused by an emotional Ms Fallon of ignoring the disability sector, a charge Mr Harris denied, before walking away.

Mr Harris apologised later that night, and phoned Ms Fallon on Saturday to personally apologise.

Mr Martin said Mr Harris had apologised and said he wished he had dealt with the matter better, and added that he hoped he personally would not have walked away as Mr Harris had.

With the 2021 Cost of Disability Research Report showing that the average annual cost of having a disability in Ireland ranges between €9,482 and €11,734, the Tánaiste was asked by The Echo whether, with the carers’ allowance being means tested, the disability sector had indeed been ignored by the Government.

“We’re committing to removing the means test,” Mr Martin said.

“I think we do have the resources now to remove the means test in respect of carers’ allowance. It’ll be done over a phased basis over the next number of years and through the raising of the income disregard threshold, Fianna Fáil is committed to doing that.”

He added that minimum costings for such a measure came in at around €600m, but his party was committed to removing the means test “over the lifetime of the next Government”, along with other measures.

“On disabilities, I’ve made it a red line going into government that the new programme for government has to have a national therapy service in-situ in schools, beginning with special schools, then Deis-plus schools, and then expanding it out.

“The National Council for Special Education has already commenced in terms of recruiting therapists for advisory functions with schools,” he said.

“And we have, in terms of a number of measures being taken in the last number of budgets, to make efforts to ease the burden on people with additional needs and we will continue to do that.

“But we need to do more, and I’m very committed to this and will continue to do so.”