Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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168. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an assurance that carers will not be subject to further cuts in the upcoming budget; that income supports will be protected for those in receipt of a carer's allowance, a carer's benefit, a half rate carer's allowance and a respite care grant in budget 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32780/15]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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169. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the conditions or criteria required for a person to qualify for credited contributions while in receipt of a carer's allowance or a carer's benefit; the actions, to date, to protect long-term and older carers in relation to their pension entitlements and to ensure that carers are not disadvantaged due to extended periods of caring; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32781/15]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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170. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to review the habitual residency condition for the carer's allowance, in view that it acts as a barrier to persons returning here to care for a loved one. [32782/15]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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172. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on exempting the carer's allowance from means assessment; and the measures in place to assist family carers to avail of education and employment opportunities during their caring years to help and support them in re-entering the workforce, when their caring role ends. [32784/15]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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173. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans for the future of the respite care grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32785/15]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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174. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider granting a pro-rata respite care grant payment to carers, whose role concludes before the completion of a 12 month period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32786/15]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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176. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to introduce measures to assist with the transition out of long-term caring responsibilities, in particular the extension of the grace period following the death of a caree, from six weeks to six months, and the introduction of a similar grace period for carers whose full-time caring role has come to an end, following the admission of their caree to residential care. [32788/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 to 170, inclusive, 172 to 174, inclusive, and 176 together.

The government recognises the key role played by carers in society and so the Department provides a range of income supports to assist with the financial burden of caring. These include carer's allowance, carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the respite care grant.

Total expenditure by the Department on carers has increased from just under €752 million in 2010 to almost an estimated €822 million in 2014. This is an increase of €70 million or just under 10%. The overall number of caring recipients has increased from just over 76,000 in 2010 to almost 84,000 recipients in 2014. This is an increase of 7,815 recipients or just over 10%. These increases demonstrate very clear evidence that, despite the need to stabilise Government finances, the welfare system continues to play a very positive role in protecting, family carers in our society.

In relation to payment rates, the Government has protected core weekly social welfare rates generally during its period in office, and there are no plans to reduce weekly rates of carer’s allowance, carer’s benefit or the respite care grant. The appropriate rates of welfare supports in the year ahead, including payments to be made to carers, will be considered by Government as part of its deliberations on the next Budget. The means assessment for carer’s allowance is the most generous in the social welfare system and I have no plans to make any changes in that area.

Carers can engage in employment, education or training, outside the home, for an aggregate total of 15 hours per week. This strikes a reasonable balance between giving carers the opportunity to engage with wider society and to maintain, where possible, a connection with the world of work and education, and meeting the requirement that carers are required to be providing full-time care and attention to a recipient of care.

When the caring role ends, due to the loss of a loved one or due to a permanent admission to a care home, working age carers may apply through the appropriate Intreo office, for jobseeker’s allowance and receive assistance in developing a personal progression plan identifying appropriate actions to facilitate a return to work.

Currently, carer’s benefit and carers allowance continue to be paid for a period of 6 weeks following the death of a recipient of care, and any change in these transition arrangements to extend the grace period can only be considered in the context of budgetary deliberations by government.

The respite care grant (RCG) is an annual payment of €1,375 for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the period of full-time care and attention must last for at least six months (which must include the first Thursday in June when the payment is made automatically to recipients of carer’s allowance/benefit and domiciliary care allowance).

This year, RCG was paid to over 70,000 clients at an estimated cost of over €124 million for the full year, and I should point out the grant, with no requirement to satisfy a means test, is not available for any other social welfare group nor is there an equivalent payment for carers in any other country in Europe.

Other supports from the Department for carers include free travel for recipients of carer’s allowance and, if they are living with the person they are caring for, the household benefits package.

Credited contributions (credits) are designed to protect the social insurance entitlement record of people, including carers, who are not in a position to make PRSI contributions.

Credits are awarded to recipients of carer's allowance/benefits in the following circumstances:

-if the claimant was employed and paid PRSI contributions prior to receiving carer's allowance s/he may be entitled to credits. If, however, there is a gap of two years in the claimant's insurance record, credits are not valid until at least 26 PRSI contributions have been paid

-if the claimant was in receipt of jobseeker's allowance (provided s/he has at least one paid Class A PRSI contribution), jobseeker's benefit or illness benefit immediately prior to claiming carer's allowance.

In addition, the homemaker’s scheme was introduced in 1994 to make qualification for State pension (contributory) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. This is achieved by disregarding years spent outside the workforce on such duties when calculating the average contributions per year on the pensioner’s record. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age, and/or an incapacitated person, to be disregarded when a person’s social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes.

The habitual residence condition (HRC), as provided for in section 246 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended), applies to claims for jobseeker’s allowance, non-contributory State pension, blind pension, non-contributory widow’s and widower’s pensions, guardian’s payment, one-parent family payment, carer’s allowance, disability allowance, supplementary welfare allowance including rent supplement, and child benefit. The effect of the condition is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere is not qualified for these payments in Ireland. The purpose of this condition is to safeguard the social welfare system, by restricting access for people who are not economically active and who have little or no established connection with Ireland. Staff are trained in the application of the relevant HRC factors in the case of carers and there are no plans to change the HRC requirement at this time.