John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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468.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection what state supports and benefits are paid to foster families who have cared for a special needs person for over 20 years from childhood to adulthood; if there are ongoing care payments that they are entitled to; if the individual that requires the care is automatically entitled to some form of payment and/or a social welfare payment in their own right. [25156/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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One of the key roles of my department is that of income support for people experiencing specific contingencies that limit their ability to earn an income. These contingencies include unemployment, illness/disability and caring responsibilities. These payments reflect the fact that people experiencing these contingencies cannot earn, or can earn only a limited employment income. The payments are accordingly intended to provide an income support to people who have no other means or resources to rely upon.

Matters related to foster caring, including any criteria relating to work, are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and for Tusla.

The Department of Social Protection provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on these payments to carers in 2024 is estimated at over €1.7 billion. Foster carers can avail of these payments where they meet the qualifying conditions.

The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the department provides income support to carers in the community. Carer’s Allowance is a means tested social assistance payment awarded to those carers who are caring for certain people who require full-time care and attention.

The primary objective of the payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced as a consequence of their full-time caring responsibilities and in so doing to support the ongoing care of the person in respect of whom care is being provided. Payment of this allowance continues for as long as entitlement remains.

Non-means tested payments available to family carers include:-

• 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. It 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 Carer’s Support Grant can be claimed by carers regardless of their means or social insurance contributions. I increased this grant to €1,850, its highest ever rate. The grant is paid in a single lump sum annually, usually on the first Thursday in June. The grant is not means-tested and is not taxable and is paid in respect of each care recipient.
• Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability and requires care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Domiciliary Care Allowance ceases to be payable when a child reaches 16 years of age. The young person can then apply for Disability Allowance if they meet the eligibility requirements.