Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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814. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has given any consideration to the long-running issue of the inclusion of Tusla-approved foster carers in State pension (contributory) contributions for the entire period of being on the approved panel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12689/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Matters related to foster caring are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and for Tusla.

More widely, this Government acknowledges the important role that carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system provides for a range of measures including PRSI credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods to recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate. Foster carers are entitled to the benefits of the Homemaker’s Scheme or HomeCaring Periods, on the same basis as other carers, and will qualify if the carer is in receipt of Child Benefit. If the foster carer is not in receipt of Child Benefit, he/she can still qualify for HomeMaker's Disregards and HomeCaring Periods provided the caring periods are confirmed by Tusla.

Despite these measures, some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the State Pension. They may, for example, have difficulty establishing the minimum number of 10 years paid contributions.

I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system on 20th September 2022. The measures, which were approved by Government, are in response to the Pensions Commission's recommendations. They represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system. One of them is enhanced State Pension provision for long-term carers of incapacitated dependents (who have been caring in excess of 20 years), as recommended by the Pensions Commission, and to be introduced from January 2024. This will be implemented through:

- A scheme to ensure that long-term carers can be attributed with contributions for gaps in their contribution record arising from their time spent caring; and

- The establishment of a ‘Family Carer Register'.

My officials are working to implement the reforms, including the drafting of legislation and development of administrative and IT systems as necessary. As part of the work to implement the new scheme, relevant Government Departments, and other stakeholders, will examine options for the creation of a statutory ‘Family Carer Register’ to help identify long-term carers.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.