Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

119. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he expects the Programme for Government pledge to remove the means test requirement for qualification for a carers allowance payment to be introduced in Budget 2026, or to be phased out incrementally over several years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32785/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Programme for Government has clearly set out a timeline which 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.This is a major change to the Carer's Allowance and to the Irish social welfare system generally. It is important that we make progress in a way that is sustainable and which does not unduly limit our scope to support other vulnerable groups in society.In this regard and given that the minimum cost of abolishing the means test is about €600 million per annum but that the cost could run to €3 billion per annum depending on inflow of new claimants, it is important to manage the reduction in the means test in a way that takes account of budgetary resources and balances the achievement of the objective of eliminating the means test with other priorities.It is also important to note that we will continue the process of easing the means test in July, when the weekly income disregard for Carer's Allowance 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, or 88%, since June 2022.The increases in July will mean that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 will still retain their full Carers payment and even with an income of €97,000 will retain a partial payment.Finally, it is important to note that my department provides non-means-tested supports to carers including Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the annual Carer’s Support Grant of €2,000 which was recently paid to over 138,000 carers on 5 June.I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

120. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the plans to review the carer’s allowance as it applies to pensioners who unfairly only qualify for half carers due to that fact that they are already in receipt of another social welfare payment. [31583/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Carer's Allowance is the main income support scheme for carers in the community. There are currently over 100,000 carers getting Carer’s Allowance with an estimated scheme expenditure of over €1.24 billion in 2025.Under the single payment per person rule, people who qualify for multiple payments typically receive the higher of the available options. However, as an exception to this rule, and in recognition of the important role of caring, where a person is on a full-time social welfare payment, such as State Pension and also caring for 35 hours or more per week, in addition to their primary payment, they can also receive a payment equivalent to up to half the Carer’s Allowance rate. So, there is no reduction in a person’s payment on moving on to State Pension, rather the person receives an increase with the combined payments.The basic eligibility conditions for Carer’s Allowance apply in that a person must be providing full-time care of no less than 35 hours per week and they must satisfy the means test.A number of significant improvements have been made to the means test for Carer’s Allowance in recent years. Continuing this trend, from July 2025, the weekly income disregard for Carer's Allowance will increase from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. This will make the scheme more accessible to people who previously did not qualify.Like other carers, people in receipt of half-rate Carer’s Allowance and the State Pension received the annual Carer’s Support Grant on June 5th. This payment of €2,000 is the highest ever level of the grant.The Programme for Government includes a commitment to ‘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’. This commitment will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government in the annual budget context and in light of available resources.I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.