Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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339. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for carer’s allowance and providing access to all who meet the other criteria for it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28856/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.

The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion this year.

The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024 the expenditure on the Carer’s Allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.1 billion and there are currently 97,127 people receiving this payment.

It is important to note that Carer’s Allowance is a financial support to people who cannot earn, or can only earn a limited income, due to their caring responsibilities and who have no other means or resources to rely upon. The Carer’s Allowance is not and never was intended to be a payment for the provision of caring.

The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and provided, and that a means test is satisfied.

The use of means tests in the social welfare system is a method of targeting scarce resources to those that have most need. Removal of the means assessment for Carer’s Allowance, would not only change the nature of the scheme as an income support but would also have significant policy and budgetary implications and reduce the scope for the Department to provide income supports to lower income households.

The estimated cost of abolishing the means test for Carer’s Allowance and providing access to all those who fulfil the provision of full-time care condition is conservatively estimated in the region of €600m per annum. Those carers who rely solely on the income from the Carer’s Allowance payment would not benefit from the abolition of the disregard.

Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of significant improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance.

• In June 2022 the income disregards were increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner. The capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was also increased from €20,000 to €50,000.
• Last month, the weekly income disregards were increased further, from €350 to €450 for a single person, and from €750 to €900 for carers with a spouse/partner.

The means test disregards for Carer's Allowance are the highest in the Social Welfare system.

Notwithstanding these improvements, as part of Budget 2024, I established an Interdepartmental Working Group with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to examine and review the system of means test for carer's payments. This work is ongoing, and I have asked the Group to report to me on the matter in Quarter 3 of this year.

It is also important to acknowledge that there are a range of other supports for carers provided by the Department which are not based on a means assessment.

• 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.
• Carer's Benefit is a weekly payment based on social insurance contributions rather than a means test and is payable for a period of up to 2 years.
• Domiciliary Care Allowance is payable to a parent or guardian in respect of a child who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. As part of Budget 2024 we have increased the payment by another €10 bringing it to €340 per month.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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340. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending child benefit to all children aged 18 years or under, including those in the international protection process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28857/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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341. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing child benefit by 10% and extending payment to all children aged 18 years or under, including those in the international protection process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28858/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 340 and 341 together.

Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. The extension of child benefit to 18 year olds was one of my key priorities in Budget 2024 and I am very pleased that we were able to bring that change in from May this year.

Child Benefit is currently in payment in respect of approximately 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of €2.1 billion for 2024.

Child Benefit is paid at €140 per month, with twins being paid at 150% per child and triplets being paid at 200% per child. The cost of increasing Child Benefit by 10% would result in additional annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €217 million based on the estimated number of recipients in 2024. It should be noted that this estimate is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.

Where a child has a disability, Child Benefit continues to be payable until the child's 19th birthday whether or not the child is in full-time education. Otherwise, 16, 17 and 18 year olds must be in full time education in order for the payment to continue. There are currently no plans to extend Child Benefit in respect of 16, 17 or 18 year olds who are not in full-time education or training. It is important that the Child Benefit payment reflects our policy objective of encouraging young people to remain in education or to avail of the very many training options that are available to them including those available through YouthReach and the Community Training Centres.

To receive Child Benefit in Ireland, parents must be habitually resident in the State. Applicants for International Protection do not satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition and are therefore not eligible for Child Benefit.

Applicants for International Protection, who are awaiting a decision on their application, are offered accommodation by the International Protection Accommodation Services of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Those who accept such accommodation are provided with material reception conditions, including food and health services together with other facilities and services designed to ensure their needs are met while seeking the protection of the State.

My Department administers the Daily Expenses Allowance which is paid to protection applicants, who reside in accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Services, in order to meet incidental, personal expenses. The current weekly rates of payment are €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child. There are approximately 16,000 adults and 3,500 children residing in IPAS provided accommodation in respect of whom daily expenses allowance is being paid.

It is not possible to accurately estimate the cost of extending Child Benefit in respect of any children not already covered by the scheme.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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342. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the carer’s support grant to €2,500; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28859/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The estimated full year cost of increasing the annual Carer's Support Grant by €650 to €2.500 is €102.1 million.

This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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343. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the domiciliary care allowance to €350; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28860/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The estimated full year cost of increasing Domiciliary Care Allowance by €10 to €350 per month is €7.6 million.

This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.