Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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523. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for carer’s allowance and providing access to all who meet the other criteria for it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35643/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Social Protection provides a range of income supports to carers, which includes Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and the Carer’s Support Grant. The combined spending on these payments is estimated at over €1.9 billion in 2025.

Carer’s Allowance is the main income support, with over 100,000 recipients and an estimated expenditure of €1.24 billion this year.

The main objective of Carer’s Allowance is to provide income support to those whose earning ability is more limited because of their caring responsibilities. The rules for getting Carer’s Allowance are similar to those for other social assistance payments in that they are based on financial need. A means test is used to decide if someone needs financial support, for example, due to unemployment, illness, disability, or the need to care for someone full time.

The immediate abolition of the means test would have a significant cost. It is estimated that such a move could cost at least €600 million more each year, based on the current number recipients and others who would become eligible. If everyone who identified as a carer in Census 2022 were to qualify, the cost could increase to around €3 billion annually, or about €2 billion if 70% qualified.

The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and the challenges they face. In the Programme for Government, we have committed 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. Due to the potential costs, it is important to manage the changes to 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.

In July, the weekly income disregard will be increased from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585 respectively, or 88%, since June 2022. As a result, from July, 99% of current Carer’s Allowance recipients will receive the full payment rate.

Any further changes or improvements will be considered considering the overall budget and policy context and the need to make sure supports remain fair and sustainable.

I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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524. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending eligibility for the fuel allowance to all pensioners, to all in receipt of the working family payment and-or a medical card; the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the waiting period of a year for those on jobseeker’s allowance,; the cost of increasing the rate by €20 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35644/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not hold data on persons in receipt of a medical card and is therefore unable to provide a costing for the extension of Fuel Allowance to this cohort.

There are approximately 740,218 pensioners in receipt of qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance. Of these, 220,429 are already in receipt of Fuel Allowance. This would give an additional 519,789 Fuel Allowance claims if the payment was awarded to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance. The estimated cost of extending eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment is as follows:

Based on an assumption of 9,728 additional recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance qualifying for the Fuel Allowance if the waiting period of 12 months was abolished, the estimate cost of the measure is as follows:

If the rate of Fuel Allowance payable was increased by €20 a week, the estimated yearly cost of the measure for those currently in receipt of the Fuel Allowance on the one hand, and, on the other hand, including the increased numbers who would qualify if Fuel Allowance was extended to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance, Working Family Payment and Jobseeker Allowance claimants without a waiting period, is as follows:

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.