Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who provide certain older people or people with a disability with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. The carer's allowance means test has been eased significantly in the past few years, most notably with the introduction of disregards of spouses' earnings. In budget 2008, I made provision to increase the income disregard in the carer's allowance means test to €332.50 for a single person and €665 per week for a couple from April 2008.

One of the fundamental qualifying conditions for carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant is that the person is providing full-time care and attention to a person who needs such care. The number of hours a person may engage in employment, self-employment, training or education outside the home and still be considered to be providing full-time care and attention for the purpose of the schemes was increased from ten to 15 hours per week in June 2006. It is worth noting that the 15 hour rule represents a relaxation of the full-time care and attention requirement. A further increase in the number of hours a person can work and still qualify for payment would dilute the full-time care and attention requirement.

In 2005, the carer's allowance scheme was extended to accommodate care sharing situations and under these arrangements, it is possible for a week on, week off care sharing arrangement to be facilitated. This means that where two carers provide care to the same person on alternative weeks, the carer's allowance and the annual respite care grant can be split between them.

In addition, budget 2007 provided for fundamental reform of payments to carers whereby people in receipt of a social welfare payment other than carer's allowance or benefit who are providing full-time care and attention can retain their main payment and receive another payment depending on their means, the maximum of which is equivalent to a half rate carer's allowance.

As I said, the Government is committed to continuing to develop payment for carers and this commitment includes recognition of the fact there is a need for payment to carers to be flexible where possible. I will keep the supports for carers available from the Department under review in order to continue to improve the schemes and ensure commitments in regard to income support are delivered.

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