The average time for deciding a claim for carer's allowance is currently 15.6 weeks. Entitlement to carer's allowance is based on an applicant satisfying medical, means and residency conditions. In determining entitlement to the allowance there are, in certain cases, unavoidable time lags involved in making the necessary investigations and enquiries to enable accurate decisions to be made. Delays can also arise if people applying for the allowance are not in a position to supply all the necessary information in support of their claim. Many applicants for carer's allowance are already in receipt of another social welfare payment while their claim is being processed. The number of claims for carers allowance submitted in 2007 was 18,000 compared to 10,700 in 2006, an increase of 68%. A total of 13,900 new applications for Carer's Allowance have been received this year to date (week end 12 September 2008). The large increase in applications received is mainly due to the introduction of the half rate carer's allowance payment which came into effect from 27 September 2007. Entitlement to carer's benefit is based on an applicant satisfying medical, employment and PRSI contribution conditions.
The average time for deciding an application for carer's benefit is currently 8 weeks. During 2007 the average time to decide a claim was 12 weeks. The number of claims for Carer's Benefit submitted in 2007 was 2,403 compared to 2,221 in 2006. A total of 1,728 new applications have been received this year to date (week end 12th September 2008).