Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 March 2021
155. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of carer’s allowance; the number who are on a reduced rate of carer’s allowance; the breakdown of these rates by the number of persons receiving a carer’s allowance payment of under €100, €150 and €200, respectively in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12324/21]
View answerCarer'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 requires this level of care. The means test for CA has been eased significantly over the years and is now the most generous in the social welfare system, with an income disregard of €332.50 per week or €665 for a couple. Additionally, while assessed means can change the rate of payment on CA, the age of the person providing care and the number of people the person is providing care to also impact the payable rate. The rates of payment are set out in the Social Welfare Rates of Payment booklet SW19, which is available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/6aec4d-current-rates-of-payment-for-social-welfare-payments-sw19/ .
Information requested by the Deputy in respect of CA is set out in the tables below. Please note that these numbers refer to all CA recipients, and as such are inclusive of recipients of half-rate CA. Half-rate CA enables people to retain certain primary social welfare payments if they are providing care to another person.
Table 1: CA recipients January 2021
|
Receiving maximum applicable rate |
Receiving reduced rate |
|
|
Total Recipients |
43,251 |
45,585 |
|
Aged under 66, caring for 1 person |
35,100 |
27,952 |
|
Aged under 66, caring for more than 1 person |
6,388 |
2,649 |
|
Aged 66 or older, caring for 1 person |
1,607 |
14,632 |
|
Aged 66 or older, caring for more than 1 person |
156 |
352 |
Table 2: CA recipients aged under 66 in January 2021 receiving less than €200 per week
|
< €100 |
€100-€149 |
€150-€199 |
|
|
CA recipients |
1,694 |
23,756 |
3,502 |
|
of whom, caring for one person |
1,623 |
23,637 |
1,602 |
|
of whom, caring for more than one person |
71 |
119 |
1,900 |
Table 3: CA recipients aged 66 or older in January 2021 receiving less than €200 per week
|
< €100 |
€100-€149 |
€150-€199 |
|
|
CA recipients |
1,694 |
23,756 |
3,502 |
|
of whom, caring for one person |
1,623 |
23,637 |
1,602 |
|
of whom, caring for more than one person |
71 |
119 |
1,900 |
