Amnesty urged to clear backlog

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has been urged to give the carer’s allowance to all 9,000 people on waiting lists as part of an “amnesty” to clear chronic backlogs.

The Carers Association made the call after the Irish Examiner revealed that, since the Coalition was elected, the number of people waiting for the vital support has almost trebled.

Official figures from the Department of Social Protection show that in the weeks before Mar 2011’s general election, 3,769 people were told to wait for the €204-a-week allowance.