Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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537. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a phased restoration to the income disregard for carer’s allowance will be expanded to ensure that those on average industrial incomes can qualify in full for the payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26389/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The main income supports for carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. The projected expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2020 is approximately €919 million. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2020 is expected to exceed €1.3 billion.

Carer's Allowance is a means tested payment made to people whose income falls below certain limits, and who are looking after certain people in need of full-time care and attention.

This allowance is part of the system of social assistance supports that provide payments based on an income need.  The means test plays a critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency – such as disability, unemployment or caring. This ensures that the recipient has a verifiable income need and that resources are targeted to those who need them most.

Current disregards for Carer’s Allowance are €332.50 per week for a single person and €665 per week for a couple, making the means test for carers the least onerous within the social protection system.

A couple earning a joint annual income of up to €37,500 (net of PRSI and other allowable deductions) can qualify for maximum payment and, given the tapered withdrawal approach, retain a payment of just under half-rate while earning €49,750.  A single person may retain a full-rate payment while having an annual income of just under €19,000, and retain a payment of just under half-rate while having an annual income of €25,400.

The Department has made an estimate of the cost of increasing the weekly income disregards for Carer’s Allowance to €450 for a single person and to €900 for a couple using the ESRI SWITCH model.  This analysis suggests that it would cost in the region of an additional €73 million per annum with net expenditure estimated in the order of €55 million per annum.

Changes to schemes are considered in an overall budgetary and policy context and from an evidence based perspective.  Some 92% of the current recipients of Carer’s Allowance have no means or means of less than €7.60 per week and would not benefit by an increase in the disregard.

My Department also offers other, non-means-tested supports to carers.  The Carer’s Support Grant is not mean-tested and is available to all carers who meet the eligibility criteria.  The payment is not dependent on a person receiving a weekly carer’s payment.  This non-taxable grant of €1,700  is payable annually in June.

I can assure the Deputy that I am very much aware of the key role that family carers play in our society and I will continue to keep the range of supports available to carers under review; however, any changes to scheme criteria would have implications for overall spending and would need to be addressed in an overall budgetary context.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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538. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to increasing the €20,000 disregard for the carer’s allowance to €50,000 in the capital formula in line with the disability allowance in which the first €50,000 of capital is disregarded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26390/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance payments.  Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the person (and spouse / partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme.  Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the family home) and capital such as savings, shares and other investments.

The assessment of capital reflects the fact that there is an expectation that people with reasonable amounts of capital and property are in a position to use that capital or to realise the value of property to support themselves without having to rely solely on a means-tested welfare payment.

In this regard, for Carer's Allowance, and most other social assistance schemes, the first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.

Disability Allowance has the highest capital disregard of all social assistance schemes; the first €50,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.

In relation to Carer's Allowance, as the first €332.50 of gross weekly income for single people and the first €665 for couples is fully disregarded, and combined with a general disregard of €7.60 per week, 92% of the approximately 87,000 Carer's Allowance recipients have no means assessed.

Any proposals to change the capital means assessment for means-tested social assistance schemes would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.