Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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233. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of allowing those who are carers and in receipt of a full carer’s allowance retain the full carer’s allowance; the full State pension when they reach State pension age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42205/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Irish social welfare system is underpinned by a general principle of one person, one payment. Normally people qualifying for two social welfare payments only receive the higher payment for which they are eligible. However, there are a limited number of exceptions where a person may receive another payment.

One such exception is half-rate Carer’s Allowance. Introduced in 2007, this arrangement allows people in receipt of particular social welfare payments, who are providing full-time care and attention, to retain their main payment and receive another payment, depending on their means, the maximum of which is equivalent to a half-rate Carer’s Allowance. Therefore, a person who may have an underlying entitlement to another social welfare payment, can transfer to that payment and continue to receive up to a half-rate Carer’s Allowance payment. This arrangement is legislated for and applies to almost all weekly social welfare payments and to people in receipt of qualified adult allowances.

Recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance or Benefit are not eligible given the job seeking nature of these payments. However, a person may be a qualified adult on these payments and receive a half-rate Carer’s Allowance.

At the end of September, there were 97,366 recipients of Carer's Allowance. Of these, 45,918 people were in receipt of a half-rate payment, of whom some 15,949 are in receipt of a State Pension. This means that these recipients, including pensioners, are already receiving a full weekly social welfare payment on another scheme in addition to another weekly social welfare payment called the half rate carer’s allowance payment.

The estimated additional annual additional cost of paying a full-rate Carer’s Allowance to the 15,947 people who are currently in receipt of a half-rate carer's allowance payment and the State Pension would be some €118.6m.

This calculation is based on the current full rate Carer’s Allowance of €286 for those aged 66 and over and caring for one person. It does not take account of the increased rate of €429 for those aged 66 and over caring for two or more people.

It is important to note that these costings are estimates based on current administrative data. They take no account of year-on-year increases in terms of recipients or increases in rates of payment.

The provision of two full social welfare payments for pensioners, as proposed, would have implications for overall spending and as such could only be considered in an overall policy and Budgetary context.

I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.