Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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893. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 431 of 27 May 2025, if can confirm when this policy was enacted; the Minister that signed off on it; and the reason it was deemed necessary. [29345/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The legislative provisions for the Half-rate Carer's Allowance payment came into effect on and from Thursday 27 September 2007. The scheme was provided for in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 which was signed by the President on 30 March 2007. At the time of the passage of the Bill through the Oireachtas, the late Seamus Brennan TD was Minister for Social and Family Affairs. The Commencement Order for the relevant provisions was signed by Martin Cullen TD, then Minister for Social and Family Affairs on 27 September 2007.

The primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income support. As a general rule only one weekly social welfare payment is payable to an individual. Persons qualifying for two social welfare payments receive the higher payment to which they are entitled. This has been a cause of particular concern to people in receipt of a social welfare payment when they become carers.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs "Report on the Position of Full Time Carers", which was published in 2003, recommended that where a person is in receipt of a widow or widower's pension and providing someone with full time care and attention, that person should be paid a half rate carer's allowance in addition to his or her pension. In order to address this concern, fundamental structural reforms in this area were provided for in Budget 2007.

The introduction of the Half-rate Carer's Allowance was a significant policy development. These arrangements allowed, for the first time, carers dependent on other social welfare payments to effectively receive two weekly payments from the Department simultaneously.

Therefore a person currently in receipt of a Carer's Allowance who may have an underlying entitlement to another social welfare payment will be able transfer to that payment and continue to receive a payment the maximum of which is up to a half rate Carer's Allowance. These arrangements apply to almost all weekly social welfare payments and to people in receipt of increases for a qualified adult.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.