Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 February 2022
8. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has given consideration to the disregard of means testing for the carer’s allowance payment; if such considerations have been discussed with other relevant Departments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5458/22]
View answerAs I have already emphasised, the Government is fully supportive of the important role that family carers play in Irish society and is fully committed to their support through a range of supports and services. My Department provides a range of income supports to family carers including Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and the Carer's Support Grant. There are currently 90,896 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance. This represents an increase of 74% in the past 10 years, from 52,209 in 2012. The average time to award the Alllowance was 4 weeks in 2021, as compared to 14 weeks in 2019. My department understands the many pressures faced by carers and always seeks to ensure that claims are handled quickly and efficiently.Decisions regarding the means test are taken in a budgetary context and are therefore subject to discussions with other relevant departments in the usual way. I have made sure to speak to carer representatives myself to understand their concerns, and my Department engages with carer groups regularly. This level of engagement has helped inform some considerable improvements that have been introduced for carers in recent years, including:
- In Budget 2020, the number of hours a carer could engage in education, training or employment was increased from 15 to 18.5 hours.
- In Budget 2021, the Carer’s Support Grant was increased by €150 from €1,700 to €1,850 per year.
The current income disregard and means test for Carer’s Allowance is the most generous within the social welfare system in that €332.50 of gross weekly income is disregarded in the calculation of means for a single person. The equivalent for someone who is married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting is €665 of combined gross weekly income. From June, as a result of the measures I announced in Budget 2022, the following improvements will be made to the carer means test:
- An increase in the weekly income disregard for Carer’s Allowance to €350 a week for single carers and to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
- An increase in the Capital/Savings disregard for Carer’s Allowance from €20,000 to €50,000.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
