Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The answer is it does not. If one looks at the classic situations in which carer's allowance is paid, it is often paid, for example, to a mother or father who is caring for a child who has a serious disability. It could be paid to an individual who is caring for another individual, who may be elderly and unwell, and may be suffering from dementia. The person may be caring for an individual who is of any age who suffered some catastrophic injury. Effectively, these are private arrangements and often they are familial arrangements. There would be a number of persons in receipt of carer's allowance, for example, two elderly persons or an elderly couple - a husband and wife who are under the one roof - who are both pensioners where one or other of the parties is seriously unwell. He or she may be suffering from dementia and there may be other issues. It may be that one spouse is getting the half-carer's allowance to provide care for the other spouse at the same time as being in receipt of pension. These are arrangements that do not fall within the provisions of the legislation.