Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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 is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024, expenditure on the Carer’s Allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.1 billion.

Eligibility for Carer’s Allowance involves satisfying a means test. Means assessments take both household income and capital (such as savings, investments and property other than the family home) into consideration. For social assistance schemes, income and capital belonging to the claimant and his or her partner, where applicable, is generally assessable for means purposes. Means tests are an essential component of our social welfare system - they help to direct scarce resources to where they are needed most.

Abolition of the means test for Carer's Allowance as proposed would give rise to additional costs of at least €600m per year based on current claim numbers. Taking account of estimates of inflows, this could increase to €2bn a year. At this level, the removal of the means test would have a significant impact on the funding available for other schemes and services. It is also worth noting that abolition of the means test would be of no benefit to those carers who rely solely on the payment and have no additional income.

Nevertheless, taking account of the important role of Carers in our society, I have, since my appointment as Minister, made a number of significant improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance.

• Budget 2022 saw the first changes to the means test in 14 years when 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. It is important to note that this equates to €100,000 in the case of a couple.
• As part of Budget 2024, the weekly income disregards were further increased from €350 to €450 for a single person, and from €750 to €900 for carers with a spouse/partner.

As part of Budget 2025, I further increased the income disregards to €625 for a single person and to €1,250 for carers with a spouse/partner.

Since June 2022, this amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 for a single carer and €585.00 for a carer who is part of couple.

These recent changes to the means test will enable more carers on a reduced rate to move to a higher payment. Additionally, many carers who previously did not qualify for a payment due to their means will be brought into the Carer's Allowance system for the first time.

I have also 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 testing for carer payments. This work is ongoing, and I expect the Group is due to report back to me later this year.

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

The Carer’s Support Grant is a payment for all carers, even those not in receipt of Carer’s Allowance. It can be claimed by carers regardless of their means or social insurance contributions. It is paid in respect of each care recipient. I increased this grant as part of Budget 2021 to €1,850 and announced a further increase in Budget 2025 of €150 bringing it to €2,000, its highest ever rate. Over 132,000 carers received the grant on Thursday 6 June at a cost of €275 million.

Carer's Benefit is based on social insurance contributions and does not require a means test. It is payable for a period of up to 2 years for each care recipient and is estimated to cost almost €58 million in 2024. In Budget 2025, I have extended eligibility for this payment to the self-employed for the first time.

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. Domiciliary Care Allowance does not require a means test. As part of Budget 2025, I’ve increased this payment by a further €20 bringing it to €360 per month. This monthly payment has increased cumulatively by €50.50 under this Government. Expenditure in 2024 is estimated to be almost €274 million.

I can assure the Deputy that I am very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and the challenges they face, and I will continue to keep the range of income supports provided to family carers by my department under review.

However, any further changes or improvements to the carer payments provided by my department, including the Carer’s Allowance payment, would need to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.

I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.