There are almost 52,000 people in receipt of carer’s allowance from my Department at an annual cost of over €500 million. Of these, over 22,000 are getting half rate carer’s allowance in addition to another social welfare payment at an annual cost of some €90 million. These include carers in receipt of one parent family payments, disability allowance and the State pension. They also qualify for free travel and may qualify for the household benefits package.
There are no carers who are only in receipt of a half rate carer’s allowance. Carer’s allowance is not a payment for providing care but an income support for people who are unable to work because of their caring responsibilities. I have no plans to re-categorise it as outlined above.
The Government appreciates the work that carers do in providing care for their loved ones and has recognised this in the recently published National Carers’ Strategy. The means test for carer’s allowance is one of the most generous in the social welfare system. The income disregard is €332.50 per week for a single person and €665 per week for a couple. A couple with two children can earn up to €35,400 and qualify for the maximum rate of carer’s allowance while a couple earning €59,300 will still qualify for the minimum rate of carer’s allowance and also the household benefits and free travel.
In the current economic climate every scheme in my Department must be kept under review, particularly payments that are additional to a primary weekly payment. As part of the deliberative process for the next Budget, my Department will analyse, in so far as possible, the distributive and poverty impact of possible social welfare changes. These impacts will be taken into account in arriving at the final decisions on the Budget. No decisions have been made at this stage in relation to welfare expenditure for next year.