David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1128. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will expand recognition and payments for carers of incapacitated persons; if persons who must give up work to care for an incapacitated person will receive financial support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18766/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.

There is a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports in place, including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, Carer’s Support Grant and associated benefits. In recognising the essential nature of these caring roles, combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2021 is almost €1.5 billion.

Carer's Allowance is a social welfare assistance scheme which is means-tested and provides a payment for carers who, on a full-time basis, look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention and where the carer's income falls below certain limits. The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and being provided, and that the means test which applies is satisfied. Eligibility is not contingent on a particular disability or illness or the severity of disability or incapacity. While the caring requirements of the person(s) being cared for will be different, this does not affect the rates of the allowance, which is intended to provide an income support for the carer and does not depend on individual care requirements.

Carer's Benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. A person may be eligible for Carer's Benefit if they have enough PRSI contributions. Carer’s Benefit is payable for a maximum period of 104 weeks for each person being cared for. It can be taken in one block or in separate periods as long as the combined total does not exceed 104 weeks. The current weekly rate is €220.00.

A non means-tested payment specifically for carers of incapacitated children already exists in the form of Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA). This is a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, who requires ongoing care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. The payment is not based on the type of disability but on the resulting physical or mental impairment which means that the child requires substantially more care and attention than another child of the same age. Since 1 June 2017, all children getting DCA are eligible for a medical card without a means test.

In addition, the annual Carer’s Support Grant is available to all family carers providing full time care and assistance regardless of means. This is a payment for carers throughout the State and is paid in June each year, not just to people in receipt of a carer’s payment but also to other carers who may not be dependent on State income supports. The grant is paid in respect of each person being cared for. In recognition of the vital role that carers provide in our society, the Carers Support Grant will increase by €150 in June. The new rate will be €1,850 – the highest ever rate at which it will have been paid since its introduction. The estimated cost of the Carer's Support Grant in 2021 is over €265 million.

Furthermore, people in receipt of a Carers’ payment who lost employment due to Covid-19 have been allowed to retain their Carers’ payment while also receiving PUP – in effect receiving a double income support from the State. Normally a person can only qualify for receipt of one income support payment. (Although a half-rate concurrent carers payment is made in some circumstances for people in receipt of payments such as the State pension).

Finally, I can assure the Deputy that I am very aware of the commitment and the key role carers play in society and the particular challenges they face in light of Covid-19 and I will continue to keep the range of supports available to carers under review. However, any improvements or additions to these supports such as a further expansion of these supports can only be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of available financial resources.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.