Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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185. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) who applied for carer’s benefit was refused same, notwithstanding that they have social insurance contributions for the relevant period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17313/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Carer's benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care and attention.

To qualify the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are or will be providing full-time care and attention and must show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention.

The PRSI condition requires that the carer must have paid 156 reckonable contributions since entry into insurable employment and they must have paid:

- 39 reckonable contributions in the relevant tax year or

-39 reckonable contributions paid in the 12-month period before the start of Carer's Benefit or

-26 reckonable contributions paid in the Relevant Tax Year and 26 contributions paid in the year before that.

Only contributions at Class A, B, C, D, H and E can be counted towards Carer's Benefit. Class S (self-employed contributions) do not count. The Relevant Tax Year is the second last complete tax year before the year in which you make your claim. So, for claims made in 2017, the Relevant Tax Year is 2015.

The employment condition requires that the carer must have been employed for at least 16 hours each week in 8 out of the 26 weeks before the period of care is due to start.

My department received an application for CARB from the person concerned on 26 November 2014. The application was disallowed on the grounds that the PRSI conditions were not satisfied. Although the person concerned has paid 156 reckonable contributions, he last paid them in 1984/85.

The person concerned was notified on 3 February 2015 of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review and appeal and he was advised of his potential entitlement to carer’s allowance (CA). An application for CA also issued.

An application for CA was received from him on 15 January 2016. This application was disallowed on the grounds that his means were not less than the statutory limit. He was notified on 27 July 2016 of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review and appeal. No review or appeal request has been received to date.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.