Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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668. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason domiciliary care allowance ceases at 16 years of age; if he will increase the age limit in line with child benefit due to the number of 16-year-olds not eligible for disability allowance who still have a condition requiring care by their parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2543/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My department provides the Domiciliary Care Allowance which is a monthly non-means tested 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.

From January 2025, the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance increased from €340 to €360 per month. As of December, there were 57,132 families in receipt of the payment in relation to 64,429 children. Expenditure in 2025 is estimated at over €301 million.

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.

Disability Allowance is a long-term disability payment which is subject to a means test, medical assessment and a habitual residency requirement.

One of the key proposals in the Green Paper on Disability Reform, which my predecessor published in September 2023, was to extend Domiciliary Care Allowance to 18 years of age. In line with this change, the Paper proposed to also raise the qualifying age for Disability Allowance to age 18.

The Green Paper was a consultation document. Based on the feedback received during the public consultation, it became clear that there were significant concerns about the proposals in the Green Paper. Among these concerns, people in particular questioned whether it was appropriate to reform the system of disability payments separate to a wider consideration of other challenges faced by people with disabilities, including transport, health, education and access to employment.

The Department responded to these concerns and, in April 2024, it was announced that the proposals would not proceed any further.

As outlined in the Programme for Government, the Government is committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Any future reform of disability payments, including Domiciliary Care Allowance, are being considered as part of this broader review of disability matters on a whole-of-government basis and will take account of the feedback received during the Green Paper process.

I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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669. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe for when the means tests will be removed for carer’s allowance; if there will be any change to the way carer’s allowance is taxed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2549/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The main income supports to carers provided by the Department of Social Protection 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 €1.9 billion in 2025.

The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently 98,117 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance and expenditure in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion.

The primary objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced as a consequence of their caring responsibilities and in so doing to support the ongoing care of the person or people in respect of whom care is being provided. It is important to note that the Carer’s Allowance is not intended to be a compensatory payment for the full value of earnings foregone nor is it a payment by the State for the provision of care.

There have been a number of significant improvements made to the means test for Carer's Allowance in recent years. As part of Budget 2025, the weekly income disregard will increase from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse/partner. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585.00 respectively since June 2022.

Notwithstanding these improvements an Interdepartmental Working Group with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth was established last year to examine and review the system of means testing for carer payments. The Group is chaired by my department and I expect the report on its findings in the coming weeks.

The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and the challenges they face. The Programme for Government commits to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government.

Finally, the issue the Deputy raises regarding the tax treatment of social welfare payments is outside the remit of my Department and is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. There are a number of social welfare payments including Carer’s Allowance which, depending on a person’s circumstances, may be liable to income tax. The Department of Social Protection makes the payment to the individual without deducting tax.

I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.