Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At the end of August 2020, there were 87,733 people in receipt of carer's allowance. The projected expenditure in 2020 is approximately €919 million. A primary qualifying condition for the carer’s allowance is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need of such a level of care. However, to support a carer’s continued attachment to the workforce and broader social inclusion, carers may engage in some limited employment, education or training, while still being regarded as being in a position to provide full-time care. During this time of employment, education or training, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.

Carer’s allowance is a statutory scheme and both the full-time care and attention requirement and the 18.5 hour limitation are set out in legislation. The number of hours per week that carers may engage in employment, education or training has recently been increased substantially. As part of budget 2020 it was increased from 15 to 18.5 hours per week. This measure was prioritised in response to carers who expressed that they found 15 hours to be too restrictive, not only for work but for education and training purposes.

I consider that the current limit maintains a reasonable balance between the requirement to provide full-time care for the care recipient and the needs of the carer. While I will of course continue to seek to improve the position of carers and thank the Deputy for raising it, any changes to payment schemes would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context. I hope this clarifies the matter.

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