Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to a system whereby those who on carer’s allowance, and who are working, are able to provide information on their working hours on a more regular basis to the Department avoiding unintentional accrued debts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6983/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Government acknowledges the crucial role that carers play in Irish society and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role.

Carer's allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that, as a result, they require that level of care.

Decisions in relation to all Social Welfare schemes are made by Deciding Officers appointed by the Minister. Once a claim is decided, a written notification of the decision is issued to the customer. This notification advises the customer of their decision and their responsibility to notify the Department of a change in circumstance such as a change in their income or a change in their hours of employment.

The Department's goal is to improve customer service and improve efficiency through more online engagement. Therefore, the Department issues reminder notifications via MyWelfare to customers regarding their responsibility to inform us of any change in circumstance.

Customers can also notify the Department of a change in circumstance by post or email although the quickest way to inform the Department is via MyWelfare. Customers with a verified MyWelfare account can upload their document via the Manage my Claim option. The customer will then receive an instant notification confirming that the document has been uploaded.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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145. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his plans for enhancing the supports available to carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8130/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play in society and are fully committed to supporting carers in that role. As outlined in the Programme for Government, we are committed to building on previous improvements to make a difference in the lives of carers and those they care for.

The Government has made a number of commitments, including to:

• Progressively increase weekly Carer’s Payments.
• Continue to increase the annual Carer’s Support Grant.
• Continue to significantly increase 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.
• Ensure Parents who are aged 66+ and caring for children with lifelong disabilities retain the rate at which they are paid their Carer’s Allowance and concurrently receive the State Pension.
• Examine how we can better support carers who are providing full-time care and attention to more than one person.
• Examine the introduction of a Pay Related Carer’s Benefit for people who have to give up work suddenly in order to provide full-time care to a loved one.