Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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234. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider extending the living alone increase to elderly people who have their disabled child living with them but the children attend disability day services and they cannot work due to their severe needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17150/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition to these primary payments, my Department also provides a range of other payments on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature and cannot be made available to those who are not in receipt of a primary payment.

The living alone increase is one of those secondary payments. It is not a scheme or a stand-alone payment, but it is a supplement to a primary social protection payment of €22 per week made to people aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. It is also paid to people aged under 66 who live alone and are in receipt of disability allowance, invalidity pension, incapacity supplement or blind pension.

It is important to note that my Department already provides a range of supports to the elderly, to carers, and to those living with a disability. Subject to meeting the relevant criteria an individual may be entitled to State pension (contributory), State pension (non-contributory), carer’s benefit, carer’s allowance (including half-rate payments), domiciliary care allowance, carer’s support grant or disability allowance. A person may also qualify for other benefits such as fuel allowance, free travel and the household benefit package.

Any change to the qualifying criteria for the living alone increase would have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.