Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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265. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the State provides any direct support or assistance in meeting the requirement for continuous supervision under the carer's allowance scheme, particularly in cases where the full burden of care cannot be met by one individual alone; and when he plans to abolish means testing for carer's allowance, as previously committed to in election manifestos. [38600/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. Carer’s Allowance is a means tested social assistance payment awarded to those who are caring for people who need full-time care and attention. Like other income supports the payment is intended to provide an income support for people who cannot earn income through employment or other means due to caring responsibilities.

In order to be eligible for Carer’s Allowance the applicant must provide full-time care and attention to the care recipient. The time spent providing care must not be less than 35 hours over five to seven days. Only one Carer's Allowance payment can be paid in respect of a care recipient.

In certain circumstances the Carer’s Allowance can be paid on a shared basis with another person, where two people alternate caring duties week-on/week-off, or where care is shared with an institution. There are currently 20 carers availing of these arrangements. It should be noted that in these circumstances, both carers may split the weekly payment and the annual Carer’s Support Grant, provided all qualifying criteria are met. Each carer may also receive the Household Benefits Package if eligible. All the usual qualifying conditions for Carer's Allowance will apply to carers availing of these arrangements.

Other supports for family carers in the home setting such as access to respite care and the HSE Home Support Service are beyond the remit of my department and a matter for my colleague the Minister for Health.

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 just 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 recipients are now entitled to the full value of their payment rate, whether they be full-rate or half-rate recipients.

Any further changes to the Carer's Allowance means test will be considered as part of Budget 2026 deliberations and in light of available resources.