People caring full-time for elderly and disabled individuals could be saving the State €2 billion per year, yet are treated as second-class citizens, the Carers Association has said.
The association's acting chief executive officer, Mr Enda Egan, said fewer than half of the estimated 50,000 full-time carers are entitled to Carers Allowance, which amounts to a maximum weekly payment of €120.
Mr Egan called for the means-testing of this benefit to be dropped to enable an additional 30,000 carers to receive it. However, the Department of Social and Family Affairs has ruled out dropping the means test.
A carer who is part of a couple with a gross household income of more than €420 per week is not entitled to the allowance, while the earnings threshold for a single person to qualify for the payment is €210 per week.
"Carers Allowance is seen as an income supplement to help keep carers off the bread line, not a payment for work. We want them to be paid for the work they are doing," said Mr Egan.
Recent budgets have tinkered with carers' incomes, but reforms needed to be fast-tracked, said Mr Egan.
The association wants each carer to have a needs assessment and for their rights to be enshrined in law. This is similar to calls from disability groups for the rights of people with disabilities to be enforceable through the courts.
The association is hosting an international conference tomorrow in Dublin.