This week, I would like to use my time to speak about carer's allowance and, in particular, the commitment in the programme for Government to abolish the means test. In Carlow and Kilkenny, I know many families where one parent gives up work to care full time for a child and the other parent then needs to work extra hours to pay the mortgage and bills. This additional necessary income then prevents the family carer from receiving carer's allowance because the family's means are often deemed too high.

I acknowledge and truly welcome the increase in the income disregard that is coming into effect on 1 July, where the families like the ones I have just described will now be able to earn €2,000 per week and still receive carer's allowance, but can the Tánaiste please offer me a timeline for when the means test will be completely abolished?

I thank Deputy Callaghan for raising this issue and bringing people into this debate because this is a real issue and we want to support carers right across this country. Carers are doing incredible work. They are also saving this State an absolute fortune and I acknowledge that as well.

I am pleased to say that the programme for Government commitment we have given to abolish the means test over the lifetime of the Government is well under way. The last budget saw the largest ever increase in the carer's allowance income disregard, so we have taken a very strong and important start in relation to that. We significantly increased the income disregard for carer's allowance and we intend to do that in each budget. The pace at which we do it will be a matter for each individual budget, but that is how we will get to our programme for Government commitment. From July last year, the amount of weekly earnings disregard was increased to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple. The budget then built on that with further improvements to the means test, which will be introduced from this July. They will see the income disregard increase by 60% for a single person, from €625 to €1,000, and, as Deputy rightly said, from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of a couple. We intend to build on that and continue to support our carers and fulfil our programme for Government commitment to abolish the means test over the lifetime of the Government.