Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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751. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his Department has considered targeted supports for carers of older people, in recognition that early intervention and consistent community presence will reduce the burden on both the health and social protection systems. [48366/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The key role of the Department of Social Protection is that of income support for people experiencing specific contingencies that limit their ability to earn an income. These contingencies include unemployment, illness/disability and caring responsibilities.

The main income supports provided by my department to family carers include Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit and the Carer's Support Grant. These income supports are available to all family carers where they meet the eligibility conditions including those carers caring for older people in the community.

Carer's Allowance is the main income support scheme for family carers. Its primary aim is to support those whose earning ability is significantly reduced due to full-time caring responsibilities. Carer’s Allowance is means-tested to target the support to those most in need.

There have been a number of significant improvements made in the last number of years to the means test for Carer’s Allowance. From July, the weekly income disregards increased further. For single carers this increase was from €450 to €625 per week. For carers with a spouse or partner, this increase was from €900 to €1,250 per week. This has made the scheme more accessible to people who previously did not qualify.

Half rate Carer's Allowance is available to carers in receipt of another social welfare payment. This arrangement applies to almost all weekly social welfare payments and to people in receipt of increases for a qualified adult.

The non-means-tested annual Carer's Support Grant is available for all full-time carers whether or not they are in receipt of a weekly carers’ payment from my department. A grant is paid for each person being cared for. The grant increased by €150 this year to €2,000 - its highest level ever.

Carer's Benefit is a non-means tested payment made to insured people, aged 16 and over, who may be required to leave the workforce, or reduce their working hours, to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. A person may be eligible for Carer's Benefit if they have sufficient PRSI contributions. The payment is payable for a period of 104 weeks for each care recipient and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of 104 weeks. The current earnings limit is €625 per week, after tax. This increased by €175 in July. In addition, as part of Budget 2025, Carer’s Benefit was extended to the self-employed for the first time.

To support carers in maintaining a connection to the workforce and to support broader social inclusion, carers are entitled to engage in employment, education or training for up to 18.5 hours per week, while still being regarded as being in a position to provide full-time care and continue to receive their full payment, subject to the means test in the case of Carer's Allowance.

The Programme for Government contains a number of commitments aimed at targeting support to family carers including a commitment to progressively increase the disregard in the Carer’s Allowance means test with a view to abolishing the means test over the lifetime of the Government.

I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to keep the range of supports available to all carers, including those caring for older people, under review. Any further improvements will be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.