Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 421: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his estimate of the number of full-time carers who are disqualified from receiving the carer's allowance due to the fact that they are already in receipt of another social welfare payment; his further estimate of the cost of extending a 50% carer's allowance to these carer's in recognition of the substantially greater requirements imposed upon them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32640/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain elderly or incapacitated persons with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit.

The primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income support and, as a general rule, only one weekly social welfare payment is payable to an individual. This ensures that resources are not used to make two income support payments to any one person. I made provision in budget 2005 for major improvements to the respite care grant. This includes the extension of the grant of €1,000 to all persons providing full time care and attention, regardless of their means. Those persons in receipt of other social welfare payments, excluding unemployment assistance and benefit, will be entitled to this payment subject to meeting the full time care condition. This arrangement was introduced to acknowledge the needs of carers, especially in relation to respite, and it is estimated that overall over 31,000 carers will receive a respite care grant in 2005.

According to census 2002 there are over 48,000 people providing personal care for over four hours per day. Almost 25,500 of these are in receipt of either carer's allowance or carer's benefit. It is likely that a proportion of the balance is in receipt of a different social welfare payment, for example an old age pension. Unfortunately it is not possible to estimate the number of people who are in this situation and it is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of the Deputy's proposal.