Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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261. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his plans to review the guidelines for carer's allowance (that is, needing partial care rather than full care); if his Department plans to undertake a review of the guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56106/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The key role of the Department of Social Protection is that of providing an income support for people in specific circumstances that limit their ability to earn an income. These include unemployment, illness, disability and caring responsibilities. These payments recognise that people in these situations either cannot work or can only earn a limited income. The supports are designed to help those who have no other financial resources to rely on.

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 to carers in 2025 is estimated at over €1.9 billion.

The primary objective of the carer income support payments is to provide an income support to carers whose ability to earn is substantially reduced because of their full-time caring responsibilities and, in so doing, to support the ongoing care of the person in respect of whom care is being provided.

To qualify for these payments, the applicant must provide full-time care and attention to a person in need of such care. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention and be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.

The full-time care and attention requirement is contained in the respective legislative provisions of the Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and Carer’s Support Grant schemes.

The minimum hours condition for which a carer can be regarded as providing full-time care and attention is set out in legislation. A carer is regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person, where the number of hours providing such care is not less than 35 hours in a period of seven consecutive days, and care is provided on any five days, whether consecutive or not, within a period of seven consecutive days.

However, to support a carer’s continued connection to the workforce and to support broader social inclusion, carers may 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. During this time of employment, education or training, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.

It is worth noting that Carer’s Allowance is payable where a carer shares the caring duties with another person or with an institution, on a week on/week off basis. Each carer will share the Carer’s Allowance payment and the annual Carer’s Support Grant. All the usual qualifying conditions for Carer's Allowance apply to carers availing of these arrangements.

I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.