Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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121. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will advise on her Department's review of means testing for carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15043/23]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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126. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has assessed the way in which capital is treated in means tests; and if it needs to be rebalanced to encourage right-sizing and fair treatment. [14948/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 126 together.

The Department of Social Protection provides income supports through a mixture of contributory payments (which are based on a person's social insurance record) and means-tested social assistance payments.

Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the person (and spouse / partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the family home) and capital such as savings, shares and other investments.

The assessment of capital reflects the fact that there is an expectation that people with reasonable amounts of capital and property are in a position to use that capital or to realise the value of property to support themselves without having to rely solely on a means-tested welfare payment.

In this regard, for most social assistance schemes, the first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.

Disability Allowance and Carer’s Allowance have the highest capital disregard of all social assistance schemes; the first €50,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.

Means tests in my Department are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. In particular, I have introduced a number of changes to means testing which provide for higher income disregards.

I have committed to a carrying out broad review of means testing this year which will include examining the means assessment provisions for Carer's Allowance and how capital is assessed across schemes.