Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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155. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of carer’s allowance; the number who are on a reduced rate of carer’s allowance; the breakdown of these rates by the number of persons receiving a carer’s allowance payment of under €100, €150 and €200, respectively in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12324/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who requires this level of care. The means test for CA has been eased significantly over the years and is now the most generous in the social welfare system, with an income disregard of €332.50 per week or €665 for a couple. Additionally, while assessed means can change the rate of payment on CA, the age of the person providing care and the number of people the person is providing care to also impact the payable rate. The rates of payment are set out in the Social Welfare Rates of Payment booklet SW19, which is available at .

Information requested by the Deputy in respect of CA is set out in the tables below. Please note that these numbers refer to all CA recipients, and as such are inclusive of recipients of half-rate CA. Half-rate CA enables people to retain certain primary social welfare payments if they are providing care to another person.

Table 1: CA recipients January 2021

Table 2: CArecipients aged under 66 in January 2021 receiving less than €200 per week

Table 3: CArecipients aged 66 or older in January 2021 receiving less than €200 per week

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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156. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the half-rate of carer’s allowance; the corresponding social welfare payment they are in receipt of; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12325/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The table beneath details the number of recipients in receipt of the Half Rate Carer's Allowance payment and the corresponding social welfare payment that they are receiving. The figures pertain to the month ending 31/01/2021.