Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an estimate of the number of new people who will be eligible to receive carer’s allowance following budget 2026; if he will explain to carers who are currently excluded by the means test exactly when they will be made aware of when they will become eligible; the amount his Department is prepared to spend on the relaxation of the carer’s means test, given that this was not made clear in the budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62427/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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This relates to the commitment given in the programme for Government to phase out the means test for the carer’s allowance. I am genuinely struggling to understand the timeline the Minister has in his head. He told me, via a parliamentary question, that it will cost more than €600 million. He has only budgeted €10 million for next year, which is a partial year, so it works out at €20 million. By that logic, it would take 30 years to get to €600 million. I am interested in finding out how many additional people will benefit from the 2026 measures so that we can have an idea of how it is going to work going forward.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The programme for Government, as the Deputy knows, commits to increasing the carer’s allowance disregard, with a view to phasing it out over the lifetime of the Government, which is another four years. Removing the means test is a significant shift in policy direction and, therefore, this is a prudent and sustainable approach for us to take.

I announced further improvements in budget 2026 to the carer’s allowance means test. They will be introduced in July 2026. For carers who work, the weekly income disregard will increase by 60% from €625 to €1,000 for a single person and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of couple. This means, for example, that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will still retain their full carer’s payment. Even those with an income of €138,000 will gain a partial payment.

There have been a number of changes to the scheme in recent years that have resulted in significant growth. The number of carers on the scheme has increased by 65% in the past ten years and the expenditure on the scheme has doubled to over €1.2 billion. The scheme is demand-led and it is also likely that many people who are currently outside the means threshold may not have previously applied for the carer’s allowance. On that basis, it is difficult to estimate potential inflow from this measure. I assure Deputy O’Reilly and other Deputies that the number of payments being made under the scheme is not budget capped. We are looking at a range of figures, including census figures and other declarations as to who is a carer, to monitor the potential inflow into the scheme. We will consistently publish data on take-up in quarterly statistical releases.

As in previous years, when there has been an increase to the disregard, if people are on a reduced rate of carer's allowance due to their means, they are due an increase in their weekly payment. Their rate of payment will be automatically increased.

The change of the disregard will come into effect in July 2026. This gives my Department ample time to raise awareness of the changes and give the kind of detail ahead of the changes the Deputy is looking for.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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Forgive me but I am still none the wiser. Following on from the budget announcement, I submitted a parliamentary question to the Department. It told me that the budgeted €10 million only covers existing recipients. By implication, the 3,000 people the Department estimates will benefit from the measure are people who are already in receipt of carer’s allowance. Am I right on that?

Presumably, the 53,000 people the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation says could potentially be eligible will all have to be brought in the system when the means test is abolished. How many of them will come into the net? How is the Minister going to do that over the next four years? Has he set a target? What the Minister is telling me is that the €10 million is not a fixed amount and, somehow, it can be expanded upon. That is not budgeted for, however. Can he explain, given that the 3,000 people coming in as part of this tranche are already in receipt of carer’s allowance, how many of the 53,000 who are not in receipt of it, will come in and in what year will they do so, from now until the end of the Government’s term?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot give the Deputy that breakdown immediately but I will try to get it to her. I think she is just looking for a breakdown. It is hard to know because many people, who are not currently in receipt of carer’s allowance and never submitted an application because they did not qualify, will now apply. As I said, expanding the threshold to include couples with an income of €104,000 means there will be a lot of people, who never engaged with my Department before, engaging with it for the first time. We will give the Deputy an estimate of the number we expect to come from that.

We will also be able to give the Deputy an estimate towards the end of this year as to how many extra people have come in as a consequence of the changes introduced in July 2025. It is difficult to estimate potential inflow with precision, but we will give the Deputy the figures based on the changes to date. I will try to give the Deputy as much information as I can regarding that figure. I am not fully sure where she is getting that figure of 53,000. I did not hear it.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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It is from the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I will engage with the Deputy in that regard. I want to abolish the means test over the course of this Government and during my time in this Department. I am also focused on those existing payments and ensuring those who are existing carers are properly rewarded for their extraordinary work. I am trying to reach a balance. If I have four years in this Department, I will abolish it, but I am also trying to work with the carers’ organisation on those existing carers.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I know the Minister’s ambition is to abolish the means test. I am not disputing that but if he cannot tell me how he is going to do it, he will forgive for being somewhat sceptical about the commitment. It is a little bit like the however many thousand houses the Government was going to build. That was an ambition as well. Ambition is not going to put money in the bank account of carers or bring those carers who are not currently eligible into the net.

I welcome the fact that the Minister has said he will provide me with some of the information. The figure of 53,000 comes from the Department of public expenditure and reform. The question those 53,000 people currently not in receipt of carer’s allowance, who may potentially benefit, would like me to ask is when they will be included. They are currently not getting compensation for the care and work they do. I know the ambition is to abolish the means test by the end of the Government’s term, but there has to be a plan. It cannot simply be the case that everyone suddenly comes into the net five minutes before midnight on the day before the Government ends. There is a need for a plan, targets and figures. I am asking for them to be shared with me and the House.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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This is not just words and ambition. There was a 60% increase in the budget for the carer’s allowance income disregard. That has never been seen before. That means that households with an income of €110,000, and up to €138,000, become eligible for a social protection payment. That is actually happening. It will happen from 1 July next year. That is real and I want to continue with those kinds of levels of increases.

As I said, I also have an eye to existing carers. I wish to ensure they are properly regarded. That is why we work closely with the carers’ organisation in relation to this and other issues. That is why we have a carer’s forum every year well in advance of the budget process. First, it helps alert people to the fact these changes have happened because we want to ensure people have the information. Second, it allows us to work with the carers’ organisations in a partnership way as to how we get this done.

An increase of 60%, combined with the fact that people with an income of €138,000 are now eligible for a payment under the Department of Social Protection, shows my seriousness and intent. It is not just ambition; this is actually happening.