John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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945. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will provide a record of insurance contributions made by a person (details supplied); if these contributions qualify them for carer's benefit; and the benefits available to this client as a stay-at-home parent since 2018 and carer for their two children (15 and 12 years old) that are in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. [30224/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Carer’s Benefit is a payment made to insured people who may be required to leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care. The scheme is payable for a period of 2 years (104 weeks) for each care recipient and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of 2 years (104 weeks).

To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions; employment conditions; show that they are providing full-time care and attention and also must show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention.

It is not a requirement for the claimant to be currently employed however, as part of the employment conditions to qualify, the claimant must have been employed in full-time employment for 16 hours or more for at least eight weeks, either consecutive or not, in the 26 week period immediately prior to the commencement of the Carer's Benefit claim.

The claimant must also have enough PRSI contributions to meet certain qualifying conditions. This condition requires the carer to have 156 PRSI contributions paid since entry into insurance.

Reckonable contributions are PRSI contributions paid in classes A,B,C,D,E & H. S contributions were introduced to be considered in 2025. The claimant is also required to meet one of the following:

• 39 contributions paid in the "Relevant Tax year" which would be 2023 for any application received in 2025.

• 39 contributions paid in the 12 months immediately before the commencement of the Carer's Benefit claim

• 26 contributions paid in the "Relevant Tax year" and 26 contributions paid in the previous "Relevant Tax year". This would be for years 2023 and 2022.

The person concerned may wish to assess their entitlement to Carer’s Allowance. This is a means tested scheme with different qualifying conditions and criteria that the person concerned may wish to look at and apply if they feel that they are eligible. The weekly means disregard on this scheme is increasing from July 2025 to €625 for a single claimant and to €1,250 for a couple.

The person may also wish to assess their entitlement to the Homemaker’s scheme. This scheme is of benefit to people who are providing full time care and attention to a child under 12 or a person who is so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention. The years spent caring may be disregarded (for the purpose of the yearly average contribution test) when calculating entitlement to State Pension (contributory) at age 66.

From January 2024, Long-Term Carers Contribution Periods has made it easier for a carer to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory) when they reach pension age. Any period in which a person is registered as providing care to an incapacitated person can be included in their pay-related social insurance (PRSI) record. Long-Term Carer's Contributions can only be used for State Pension (Contributory) once you have reached a minimum of 1040 weeks (20 years).

I hope that clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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946. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his views on matters raised in relation to widowed parents (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30244/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Matters relating to Parental Leave and employment rights are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Matters relating to SUSI Grants are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Therefore, queries relating to those issues should be directed to the relevant Ministers.

My Department provides a suite of income supports. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes.

Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the widow, widower or surviving civil partner of a deceased person. The pension remains payable while the person remains widowed or a surviving civil partner and the payment is not means tested. As a result, a person can be in receipt of WCP and earn income from employment or self-employment.

The Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner Grant (WPG) is a once-off payment to widows, widowers or surviving civil partners with dependent children. This grant is available to widows, widowers or surviving civil partners who have one or more dependent children living with them at the date of death, or a widow or surviving civil partner whose child is born within 10 months of the date of death of her spouse or civil partner. This grant is a once-off payment of €8,000.

Other payments made by my Department include the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, Child Benefit, Carer's Benefit and Allowance. Each of these payments have their own qualifying criteria, however the civil status of each applicant is not a factor.

Furthermore, my Department operates Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people of any age, who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.

The rates of payment are set as part of the Budgetary process and are informed by various data including the CSO SILC. In recent successive Budgets, the social welfare packages were the largest in the history of the State, and the last three Budgets contained significant cost of living packages. The Government is focused on continuing to deliver on measures to address poverty and social exclusion.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.