Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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103. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to outline his plans to increase further the income disregards for the carer’s allowance and ultimately abolish the means test for the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38014/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

It is also important to note that we are in the process of easing the means test.  The latest increase occurred last Thursday when the weekly income disregard for Carer's Allowance increased from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse/partner.  This was as a result of a Budget 2025 measure.  This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585.00 respectively, or 88%, since June 2022.  Such improvements mean that many more carers can avail of Carer’s Allowance or potentially receive a higher rate of payment. 

The latest increases 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.

As a result of this change, 5,280 carers received an increase in their Carer’s Allowance payment last week.  In fact, some 99% of current Carer’s Allowance recipients are now entitled to the full payment rate. 

Finally, it is important to note that my Department also 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.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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104. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will review the current eligibility rules whereby domiciliary care allowance (DCA) automatically ceases when a child turns 16, regardless of the child's continuing care needs; if he will consider extending DCA until a young person's transition to disability allowance has been fully approved and implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38221/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly non-means-tested payment of €360 to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require care and attention substantially greater than that required by other children of the same age.

Domiciliary Care Allowance stops being paid when a child reaches 16 years of age. This aligns with the age of eligibility for Disability Allowance. If the young person continues to have a disability that significantly impacts their daily life, they may apply for a Disability Allowance payment in their own name. Disability Allowance is a means-tested income support payment of €244 for people whose illness or disability means that they are substantially restricted from doing work that would be suitable for a person of their age, experience and qualifications. If their parent or guardian continues to provide full-time care, they may retain, or apply for, a carer's payment.

It is important to note that Domiciliary Care Allowance and Disability Allowance are designed for different purposes and have different eligibility criteria. Domiciliary Care Allowance is a payment to assist parents who have a child whose care needs are greater than that of other children of the same age. Disability Allowance provides income support payment for people whose illness or disability means that they are substantially restricted from doing work that would be suitable for a person of their age, experience and qualifications.

For this reason, it would not be appropriate to automatically extend Domiciliary Care Allowance beyond the age of 16 as not all recipients may require or be eligible for Disability Allowance. Currently, 18% of Disability Allowance customers were previously in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance.

Applications for Disability Allowance can be made within 3 months before the child’s 16th birthday. The current average processing time for Disability Allowance applications is 6 weeks.

The Green Paper on Disability Reform was a consultation document in which the idea of extending the upper age limit for Domiciliary Care Allowance and the lower age limit for Disability Allowance to 18 years of age was one of the issues considered.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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105. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the family of an Irish citizen who passes away in the UK is entitled to the death grant for the funeral. [38227/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Bereavement Grant, which was a once-off payment for funeral costs, was discontinued in January 2014. In this context, it is worth noting that there are other supports available for people following bereavement which provide more significant support than the former grant.

These include the Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner grant, which is a once-off payment of €8,000 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.

To qualify for the Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner Grant, the applicant must also qualify for certain Social Protection payments which also include an increase for a qualified child. These payments are the weekly-paid Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) pensions, death benefit under Occupational Injuries Benefit, State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-Contributory) or the One-Parent Family Payment, which are based on social insurance contributions or a means test. If a person has a spouse or civil partner that passes away in the UK, they may qualify for the Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner Grant payment provided they have a dependent child and meet the qualifying conditions of the weekly-paid schemes.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or from other personal and household resources, which may include help with funeral and burial expenses. Such support will depend on the individual circumstances of any given case. If the Deputy is aware of a particular case, he may wish to send on the details in order to provide a more specific response.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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106. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person who was in receipt of a blind pension prior their 66th birthday is no longer able to receive this pension or if they are no longer considered blind upon turning 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38266/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides a suite of income supports for those unable to work due to illness or disability. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes.

The primary social assistance scheme for people who are blind or visually impaired is the Blind Pension, which is a means-tested payment, and the only income support payment designed to cater for a specific disability. The maximum personal rate of Blind Pension is currently €244 per week.

Blind Pension is a working age payment paid to people aged 18 to 66 years. Eligibility for Blind Pension requires that a person’s vision is impaired to such an extent that they cannot perform any work for which eyesight is essential or cannot continue in their ordinary occupation.

Where a recipient of Blind Pension turns 66 they may qualify for a State Pension, Contributory or Non-Contributory. Those payments are made to people who have reached pensionable age 66 and who satisfy the qualifying conditions.

Currently, the maximum weekly personal rate of, the means tested, State Pension (Non-Contributory) is €278, that is €36 per week more than the maximum personal rate of Blind Pension. So there is no loss for a person who moves from Blind Pension to State Pension (Non-Contributory) on turning 66.

Any person experiencing financial hardship may seek financial assistance under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme, by way of an Exceptional Needs Payment or Urgent Needs Payment. This scheme does not have age criteria.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.