Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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92. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason job sharing teachers who apply for carer's benefit are being refused as they are deemed not to work enough hours, even though they work well beyond their timetabled hours, including for the substitution and supervision scheme, yard duty and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50688/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on these payments in 2025 is estimated at over €1.9 billion.

A primary qualifying condition for the Carer’s Benefit and Carer’s Allowance payments is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need of such a level of care. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention and be likely to require this full-time care and attention for at least 12 months. The full-time care and attention requirement is moderated somewhat by allowing a carer to work or engage in education or training for up to 18.5 hours a week while in receipt of a carer's payment. During any period of employment, education, or training, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.

Carer’s Benefit is a payment made to insured people who may be required to leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care. It is payable for a period of up to 2 years, 104 weeks, for each care recipient and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of 2 years, 104 weeks. The current rate is €261 per week for one care recipient.

To determine entitlement to Carer’s Benefit, applicants must provide evidence of the care recipient’s care requirement, the level of care the carer provides, the carer’s hours of employment, and their PRSI record.

A person may qualify for Carer’s Benefit if they meet the Pay Related Social Insurance and other conditions of the scheme and have been in full-time employed for at least 8 weeks in the previous 26 weeks. Full-time employment in this context is defined as insurable employment for at least 16 hours per week or 32 hours per fortnight. This condition does not need to be satisfied on a second or subsequent claim where a person was in receipt of Carer's Benefit within the previous 26 weeks.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.