The Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.
The key role of my department is to provide income supports where an income need may arise due to unemployment, illness/disability or caring responsibilities. The payments provided are an income support to people who cannot earn, or can only earn a limited income, and who have no other means or resources to rely upon.
The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2023 is expected to amount to almost €1.6 billion on these payments.
The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and provided, and that a means test is satisfied. The application of the means-test not only ensures that the recipient has an income need but also that scarce resources are targeted to those with the greatest need.
Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of significant improvements within the social welfare system to enhance the supports available for family carers. As part of Budget 2022, I was delighted to announce the first improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance in 14 years:
• For carers who work, the weekly income disregard was increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
• The capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000, aligning it with the capital means test for Disability Allowance.
The Carer's Allowance disregards are the highest income disregards in the social welfare system.
More recently, as part of Budget 2023, I announced a range of measures directly benefitting family carers, particularly in light of the current cost of living crisis. These include:
• A cost of living double payment to carers paid in October 2022.
• A €500 cost of living payment for people receiving Carer’s Support Grant paid in November 2022.
• Carers received the Christmas Bonus Double Payment in December 2022.
• A €200 lump sum payment for those in receipt of long-term payments, including carers, in April 2023.
• A €12 increase in the maximum rate of Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit took effect from January 2023 with proportionate increases for people receiving a reduced rate.
• A €2 increase for each Qualified Child bringing rates to €50 for Over 12s and €42 for Under 12s rom January 2023.
• The Half-rate Carer’s Allowance is now disregarded in the means assessment for Fuel Allowance since January 2023.
• Domiciliary Care Allowance increased by €20.50 to €330 per month with effect from January 2023.
• Domiciliary Care Allowance is now available in respect of children with severe illness or disability who remain in hospital for up to six months after birth.
Abolition of the means test for Carer’s Allowance as the Deputy suggests would, in effect, create a new universal social protection scheme for those meeting the scheme’s basic caring condition. This would constitute a fundamental change in the nature of the payment and could only be considered in a wider budgetary and policy context.
In addition to Carer's Allowance, my department also provides a non-means tested payment to those carers who have to leave the workforce or reduce their hours in the form of Carer’s Benefit. For those providing ongoing care and attention for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, Domiciliary Care Allowance is available and is also not means-tested. Furthermore, the Carer's Support Grant - which I increased to its highest-ever rate of €1,850 - is also available to carers who are not on a social welfare payment. On Thursday 1 June, some 141,000 Carer's Support Grants were paid to approximately 126,000 family carers.
Notwithstanding the increased level of support already in place for carers, I have asked my department to keep these measures under review as part of the annual budgetary process. I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to support carers and meet regularly with them and their representative groups myself, so that I can hear directly from them about their issues.
Finally, I have committed to a carrying out a broad review of means testing this year which will include the Carer's Allowance means test provisions. This review is ongoing, and I hope to complete it in Quarter 4. Changes to any of the schemes on foot of this review will only be done in the context of ensuring the most effective and targeted use of public funds that are required to provide income support on a broad societal level.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
