Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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604. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the spouse of a person can use the income thresholds for FIS as the means test figures to grant the spouse carer's allowance in circumstances in which the conditions are being met and if the spouse is in receipt of FIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3200/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a range of income supports for carers including carer’s benefit, carer’s allowance, domiciliary care allowance and the carer’s support grant.

The financial supports available to carers in Ireland are among the highest rates of income support in Europe. Carer’s allowance (CA) is a primary income support and its means test is one of the least onerous in the suite of social protection supports provided by my Department. The means test for Carer's Allowance involves assessing income and if a person is single, €332.50 of their gross weekly income is not taken into account. If they are married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting the first €665 of their combined gross weekly income is disregarded. PRSI, union dues, superannuation (pension contributions) and travel expenses are also deducted. For a couple, the combined gross weekly balance is then halved to give the carer's weekly means. Any payment made by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) is not taken into account in the means test for Carer's Allowance.

The level of payment for Family Income Supplement (FIS) is determined on a completely different basis as a percentage of the difference between the household income and annual family income limits which are increased in line with the size of the family. It would not therefore be appropriate to apply alternative thresholds to a specific action. More generally, any improvements or additions to the income limits for carers allowance could only be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of available financial resources.

Considerable improvements have been introduced for carers in recent years. In Budget 2016, the Carer’s Support Grant, which is payable without a means test, was increased to €1,700 in addition to other measures benefiting carers including extending the period when the allowance can be paid following the death of a care recipient from 6 to 12 weeks. In addition to the Christmas Bonus and the €5 increase in the weekly rate, Budget 2017 introduced a measure that extends payment of CA for 12 weeks where the care recipient enters permanent residential care.

I can assure the Deputy that I am very aware of the key role carers play in society and I will continue to keep the range of supports available to carers under review. If the Deputy has a particular case that he wants to be considered in the context of his question, I would invite him to send details to me for examination.