Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 535: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the full qualifying conditions for the carer's respite grant; the arrangements being made to cater for the expected increase in applications; when new application forms will be available reflecting the recent changes to the qualifying conditions. [10629/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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In budget 2005, I announced the extension of the respite care grant scheme to all carers providing full-time care to an older person or a person with a disability, regardless of means and subject to certain qualifying conditions.

The respite care grant will continue to be payable to recipients of carer's allowance, carer's benefit, prescribed relative allowance, constant attendance allowance and domiciliary care allowance. Carers who do not qualify for a grant under one of these schemes may now obtain a grant if they and the person for whom they are caring satisfy certain conditions.

Carers must be aged 16 or over; ordinarily resident in the State; caring for the person on a full-time basis for at least six months, this period of care must include the first Thursday in June; living with the person or have a direct system of communication to the person's home.

In addition, a carer must not be employed or self-employed for more than ten hours outside the home; getting or entitled to unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance or signing for unemployment credits; living in a hospital, convalescent home or other similar institution.

The care recipient must need full-time care and attention; not reside in a hospital, convalescent home or other similar institution and not already getting full-time care and attention within their own home from another person.

The grant, which is being increased to €1,000, will be payable from 2 June 2005. Application forms and information leaflets will be available from early May. The forms and leaflets will be distributed throughout my Department's network of local offices and will also be available from Citizens' Information Centres. In addition, they may be requested by phone from my Department or by downloading them from my Department's website.

My Department is preparing an extensive publicity campaign to ensure that all those eligible for the grant will avail of it. The publicity campaign will include advertisements in both provincial and national newspapers as well as posters in various centres and offices.

Officials of my Department have already briefed representatives of carers' organisations about the scheme. These organisations will in turn be providing information to their members.

My Department is setting up a special section to deal with this scheme. Arrangements are being put in place to ensure applications are processed efficiently and in a timely manner. As part of these arrangements a dedicated freefone help-line will be operated to coincide with the publicity campaign.