Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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139. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of hours spent implementing the means-test for carer’s allowance; the cost of this work to implement the means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62182/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that, as a result, they require that level of care.

There are currently 103,696 people in receipt of CA and the projected expenditure for 2025 is approximately €1.24 billion.

In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions such as CA can take longer to process. For example, to qualify for CA the carer must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that they are providing full-time care and attention to a person who requires this level of care, and that their means are less than the statutory limit.

The time taken to process an application is also dependent on the information available. Some applications require more detailed investigation and interaction with the customer and this can further lengthen the timeframe for processing.

As a result of the many variables outlined above, the information requested by the Deputy is not available.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.