Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2020
538. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to increasing the €20,000 disregard for the carer’s allowance to €50,000 in the capital formula in line with the disability allowance in which the first €50,000 of capital is disregarded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26390/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance payments. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the person (and spouse / partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the family home) and capital such as savings, shares and other investments.
The assessment of capital reflects the fact that there is an expectation that people with reasonable amounts of capital and property are in a position to use that capital or to realise the value of property to support themselves without having to rely solely on a means-tested welfare payment.
In this regard, for Carer's Allowance, and most other social assistance schemes, the first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.
Disability Allowance has the highest capital disregard of all social assistance schemes; the first €50,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.
In relation to Carer's Allowance, as the first €332.50 of gross weekly income for single people and the first €665 for couples is fully disregarded, and combined with a general disregard of €7.60 per week, 92% of the approximately 87,000 Carer's Allowance recipients have no means assessed.
Any proposals to change the capital means assessment for means-tested social assistance schemes would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.
