John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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92. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on a carers support grant application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26337/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) is an annual payment made to full-time carers who satisfy certain conditions.

The person claiming the CSG must:

• Be aged 16 or over and ordinarily resident in this State.
• Care for the person on a full-time basis.
• Care for the person for a continuous period of at least six months – this period must include the first Thursday in June.
• Live with the person being looked after, or this person can be contacted quickly by a direct system of communication (i.e., a telephone or alarm).
• Not be employed / self-employed for more than 18.5 hours per week.
• Not be in receipt of, or entitled to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit or be signing for credited contributions.

• Be so incapacitated as to need full-time care and attention.
• Not normally live in a hospital, convalescent home, or another similar institution.
• Not receive full-time care and attention within their own home from another person other than the person claiming the Grant.

John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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93. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on a carers allowance review in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26344/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Carer's Allowance (CA) 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.

An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 21 January 2025.

It is a necessary condition for receipt of CA that the carer must be providing full-time care and attention to the care recipient. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision to avoid danger to him or herself and likely to require that level of care for at least twelve months. The time spent providing care each week must not be less than 35 hours per week over 5-7 days.

The application was examined, and the Deciding Officer determined that the above condition was not satisfied. Although a certain level of care was provided, the evidence submitted did not show that the full-time care and attention requirement as defined in the legislation was being met.

The person concerned was notified of this decision on 27 February 2025. They were also notified of their right to have the decision reviewed (where further information is available) or to appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

A request to review this decision was received from the person concerned on 4 March 2025. An information request pertaining to the review was issued to the person concerned on 2 April 2025.

Following receipt of the information requested and following the necessary investigations in relation to all aspects of the review, the person concerned was awarded CA. As the person concerned was on Carer's Benefit up to 9 April 2025, CA was awarded with effect from 10 April 2025.

The first payment issued to the nominated bank account of the person concerned on 8 May 2025 along with arrears due from 10 April 2025 to 7 May 2025.

The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 2 May 2025.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.