Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2013
406. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the carer's allowance falls under the remit of her Department; if it could be transferred to the Department of Health in view of the the savings that carers bring to the health service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4027/13]
View answerThe Government values the role of carers very much and it is for this reason that they receive significant income supports from my Department. In addition to carer’s allowance or carer’s benefit, carers receive additional support in the form of free travel and household benefits (for those who live with the person for whom they care) and the annual respite care grant in respect of each person for whom they care. If a person is getting certain qualifying social welfare payments and also providing full time care and attention to another person, they can keep their main social welfare payment and get the half-rate carer's allowance as well. They can also receive an extra half-rate carer’s allowance if they care for more than one person.
The reason these payments fall under the remit of my Department is that they are income supports for carers who are unable to work while they are caring. They are not intended to cover the cost of care which is a matter for the Department of Health and the HSE. They are also not intended to cover the income needs of the care recipient, who, in most cases, will be in receipt of a payment from the Department in their own right, such as a State pension or a disability payment. For operational reasons, including the links with other payments, such as domiciliary care allowance and a range of schemes for those applying for half-rate carer’s allowance, it would not be appropriate to transfer the control of the carer’s allowance payment to the Department of Health.
Expenditure on carers has increased significantly in recent years. The estimated expenditure on carers in 2012 was over €771 million: €509 million on carer’s allowance, €24 million on carer’s benefit, €135 million on the respite care grant and €103 on domiciliary care allowance. This represents an increase of almost €20 million on expenditure in 2011. There are over 52,000 people in receipt of carer’s allowance. Of these, over 23,000 are getting half-rate carer’s allowance in addition to another social welfare payment at an annual cost of some €90 million. There are over 1,600 people in receipt of carer’s benefit and more than 70,000 people are in receipt of the annual respite care grant.
