Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 July 2020
69. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to alter the eligibility criteria for payments to carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18803/20]
View answerThe main income supports for carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2020 is expected to exceed €1.3 billion.
Carer's Allowance is a means tested payment made to people whose income falls below certain limits, and who are providing full-time care and attention to elderly people or to people with disabilities.
As with all social assistance payments, the means test plays a critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency – in this case the need to provide full-time care – and ensures that resources are targeted to those with the greatest need.
At the end of June 2020, there were 87,643 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance. The projected expenditure in 2020 is approximately €919 million.
To be eligible for the Carer’s Support Grant, applicants must be providing full-time care and attention to someone who requires that level of care. The Carer's Support Grant and the Domiciliary Care Allowance payment are not means tested.
Carer's Benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for a person in need of full-time care and attention. Eligibility is based on satisfying a number of conditions, including a specified number of paid PRSI contributions. The carer must have been employed in full-time employment for at least eight weeks, either consecutive or not, in the 26 week period immediately prior to the commencement of the Carer's Benefit claim.
While I have no plans to alter the eligibility criteria for carer income supports at this time, I can assure the Deputy that I am very aware of the key role family carers play in society and I will continue to keep the range of supports available to carers under review. However, any changes to scheme criteria would have implications for overall spending and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
