Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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127. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to outline his plans to abolish the means testing for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32977/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government sets 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.There have been a number of significant changes made to the Carer’s Allowance means test in recent years. Next month, there will be a further increase which will see the weekly income disregard rise 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 respectively since June 2022. These increases make the scheme accessible to more people and may increase payment rates for those currently on a reduced rate. 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.It should also be noted that my department also provides other supports for carers which are not based on a means assessment. These include the Carer’s Support Grant, Carer’s Benefit and Domiciliary Care Allowance. The Carer's Support Grant of €2,000 was paid to over 138,000 carers on 5 June.It is important that we make progress in a way that is sustainable, and which balances the allocation of the available budgetary resources each year across all priorities. This includes funding services to other vulnerable groups. That is why we have committed to a measured and phased approach over a number of budgets.I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.