Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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147. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when an application by a person (details supplied) will be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29956/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Carer's Support Grant is an annual payment made to carers by my Department. 

I can confirm that my Department received an application for the Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) from the person concerned on 17 May, 2021. 

It is a condition of the Carers Support Grant that a carer must be providing full-time care to the care recipient for a continuous period of at least six months and this period must include the first Thursday in June.

As the person concerned stated that she commenced caring on 06 November 2020 and was not providing full-time care on the first Thursday in June, 2020, conditions were not satisfied for the Carers Support Grant for the year 2020. This application was disallowed and a letter issued to the person concerned on 31 May 2021, informing her of the decision and of her of her right of review and appeal. 

The Carers Support Grant has been awarded to the person concerned for the year 2021 as the conditions for receipt of the grant have been met for the year 2021. The decision letter has issued on 31 May 2021 informing her of the decision and of her of her right of review and appeal.

Payment of the 2021 Carers Support Grant, which this year has been increased to € 1,850.00, will be paid shortly.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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148. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to the operation of the household benefit package scheme for persons with a disability will be examined. [29994/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The household benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence.  The package is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test.  The package is also available to some people under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain long term welfare  payments such as invalidity pension, carer's allowance, disability allowance, blind pension and incapacity supplement. 

The package consists of the gas and electricity element of the package and the free TV licence element. The gas and electricity element is paid at a rate of €35 per month.  My Department will spend approximately €265 million this year on HHB for over 476,000 customers.

A person in receipt of a long-term social welfare payment such as disability allowance may retain their secondary benefits such as HHB when they transfer to an education and training board/national learning network course.  However, entitlement to these secondary benefits must be established prior to their long term qualifying social welfare payment being stopped.  A person cannot qualify for the HHB package while on a course.

The Disability Allowance of the person concerned was stopped in March 2020 when that person started an ETB/NLN course.  As the person concerned was not receiving the HHB package before transferring from disability allowance to the training course, that person is not entitled to claim HHB at this time.

Any decision to allow a person aged under 66 to qualify for the HHB package while no longer in receipt of a qualifying payment would have to be considered in a budgetary context.  

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.