Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In budget 2020 I announced that recipients of carers' payments would be allowed to increase the number of hours they could work, study or attend a training course outside the home from 15 hours to 18.5 per week. Over 1,200 additional family carers are expected to qualify for payment as a result of this change, at an estimated cost of €11.6 million. Also, any carer currently working less than 18.5 hours per week can avail of the additional hours.

There have been calls to increase the disregard for carer's allowance from carer groups and organisations. In deliberating on measures for inclusion in budget 2020 I included an examination of the disregard for carer's allowance. In its pre-budget submission Family Carers Ireland looked for an increase in the disregard for carer's allowance of €117.50 for a single person and €235 for a couple per week. My Department costed this proposal using the ESRI simulating welfare and income tax changes, SWITCH, model. Allowing for income tax and working family payment offsets, net expenditure, if these changes were made, is estimated to be around €55 million per year. Gross expenditure would be €73 million.

Changes to schemes are considered in an overall budgetary and policy context and from an evidence-based perspective. Some 92% of current recipients of carer's allowance have no means or means of less than €7.60 per week and would not benefit in increasing the disregard. The existing income disregard and means test for carer’s allowance is the most generous within the social welfare system and across the European Union. The weekly earnings disregarded are currently €332.50 for a single person and €665 for a couple. At 18.5 hours per week, this is equivalent to an income of €36 per hour worked in a two-person household and €18 per hour worked in a single-person household.

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