Louise

Instead of getting €290 a week, carers will be getting €260 a week.

And at the same time, I think this was kept very quiet, but HAP rent went up €20 a week.

So say you were making a contribution of €4,750 a week, suddenly you're paying €6,750 a week, which was a massive increase if you look at percentages.

So they took away €38 and they added €20 to a carer.

So, no, carers are actually worse off.

Apart from the €1,300 they took from us in the budget, we're actually going to be now, if you take away the €38 and then add on the €20, that's €58 a week worse off.

Like you have to find the 58 euro now from somewhere else, which you can't.

Like I know I went shopping today and it cost me 170 euro.

So if you only get in 260 and then you pay your half and then you pay, you know, whatever else you like.

My last two electricity bills were 838 and 598.

they're huge like and it's a three-bedroom apartment it's not you know nothing huge so like where do you how do you get money to save for your electric bill how on earth where do you where does anybody think we're getting the money from like we're just not we are you know and I'm not the only one because I see I've got a lot of friends you know that are carers and they are saying that their fridges are empty like they've got no food they can't put the heating on

Like, we're really struggling.

And the fact is, is the government knows.

I don't resent the hauliers and the farmers because they went and they had the opportunity to go and they blocked the country for six days and they got 500 million.

But, you know, the government knows that carers can't do it.

We can't take our 28-year-old autistic kid and sit on O'Connor Street for six days.

So, because if we would, if we could, we would, honestly.

Yeah.

You know, but they know we can't, and so they don't care.

They literally are... Like, Mary Lou McDonagh has come up with a really good plan.