Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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507. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the serious implications that means testing and eligibility requirements for the carer’s allowance has on family carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35176/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Income supports for family carers provided by my Department include Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit, the Carer's Support Grant and Domiciliary Care Allowance.  Spending on these supports in 2022 is expected to be over €1.5 billion.

Carer’s Allowance is the primary scheme through which my Department supports carers in the community.  Carer’s Allowance is a payment to people on low incomes who are caring full-time for a person who needs support because of age, disability or illness.  The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and is being provided, and that the means test is satisfied.

The conditions attached to payment of Carer’s Allowance are consistent with the overall conditions that apply to social assistance payments generally and which are based on an income need. The means test plays the critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency - be that illness, disability, unemployment or caring.  

As part of Budget 2022 significant changes were made to the Carer’s Allowance means test.  These were the first changes to the means test in 14 years:

- The capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000.

- For carer’s who work, the weekly income disregard was increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.

The changes came into effect on 2 June and many carers who up to now did not qualify for a payment due to means will now be brought into the Carer's Allowance system for the first time.

Any additional changes to the carers' means test would have to be considered in the context of the budget.