Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021
141. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending the availability of the one-parent family payment and half-rate carer's allowance by enabling eligible recipients to claim the payment until a child reaches 18 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62261/21]
View answerThere is a general rule within the social welfare system that a person can only be in receipt of one payment at a time. Payment of half-rate Carer's Allowance (CA) with certain other payments such as One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) is a notable exception.
OFP is payable until the claimant's youngest child reaches age 7, subject to all of the other qualifying conditions. When caring for a child under age 16, half-rate CA is only payable where a Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is also in payment in respect of that child.
There is a special provision for OFP recipients who are in receipt of DCA and half-rate CA in respect of their child, whereby the OFP payment is extended beyond the maximum age limit of 7, until the child for whom the DCA is in payment reaches the age of 16 years. This ensures that OFP recipients who care for a child with a disability will continue to receive additional support until that child reaches the age of 16 years and can apply for the Disability Allowance (DA) in their own right.
There are no plans to make any changes in this regard.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
