What has become of the draft law on carers, and what will become of it?

Thirteen years, 29 bills that have come to nothing, and even the 30th – which is currently before Parliament – is in danger of meeting the same fate. Since 2013, all the successive legislative initiatives on the subject of family carers – proposed by a wide range of political parties – have invariably run aground.

At the end of the Council of Ministers meeting on 12 January, it was announced that yet another draft bill on carers had been approved and that the parliamentary process would begin under ‘urgent procedure’ to ensure the measure is fast-tracked. At present, the proposal is still under consideration by the Chamber of Deputies’ Social Affairs Committee, which has discussed the matter sporadically over the past few months in no fewer than eight meetings, the last of which took place on 8 July and concluded with the matter being deferred until a later date. Who knows if and when the bill will reach the Chamber for final approval. Will it be passed before the end of the parliamentary term? In the meantime, those caring for vulnerable family members are left waiting.

And yet September is just around the corner. The draft bill stipulates that, from 1 October, users will be able to submit their applications via an online platform that the INPS will set up and make available, using €1.15 million specifically allocated for this purpose. Once the group of eligible recipients has been determined, the actual payment of the benefit is scheduled to begin in 2027, with effect from the date the application is submitted.

But by the end of the Cabinet meeting last January, it was already clear that the process had not got off to a good start. The go-ahead had been given amid some friction within the Government, as revealed by statements from the Minister for Disability, Alessandra Locatelli, who had proposed the measure and was not entirely satisfied. One of the points of dissatisfaction, which the minister herself had immediately highlighted, ‘is that the ISEE threshold is too low, which means that only a very limited number of people will be eligible for the allowance’. In fact, a payment of up to 400 euros per month is provided for those who care for a relative for at least 13 hours a day (equivalent to 91 hours a week), provided their annual ISEE does not exceed 15,000 euros. The funds allocated for the next three years amount to 257 million euros per year, and the exact amount of the allowance will depend on the number of applications.

Given the maximum limit of 400 euros per month, once the scheme is fully operational, it could potentially support at least 53,500 carers. However, as stated in the explanatory notes to the draft bill prepared by the Government itself, the number of carers in Italia is estimated at 7.8 million; but bearing in mind that the expected benefit is granted to those who provide at least 91 hours of care per week and have a very low ISEE, the number of eligible recipients is likely to be reduced to 62,333 carers. With these figures, state support would fall to an average of 343 euros a month. It is a small amount for a small number of people, but better than nothing. Yet who knows how long we will have to wait.