Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Recent media reports suggest the cost of abolishing the means test for carer's allowance is in the region of €3 billion per annum. I understand that is the Department's own estimate. In the Minister's opinion, how definitive is this estimate?

In March 2023, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated the cost of fully abolishing the means test at €397 million. It also costed raising the income threshold so that all households earning under €100,000 would qualify for carer's allowance at €387 million. In 2024, the Parliamentary Budget Office, using new CSO data from 2022, provided three costing scenarios - low, central and high - which gave an annual cost estimate at the central level of €375.3 million. In April 2024, the Department of Social Protection estimated the additional cost of abolishing the means test at €600 million. It seems extraordinary that it could now be five times that amount.

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