Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 July 2024
339. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for carer’s allowance and providing access to all who meet the other criteria for it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28856/24]
View answerThe Government acknowledges the valuable 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 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 on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion this year.
The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024 the expenditure on the Carer’s Allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.1 billion and there are currently 97,127 people receiving this payment.
It is important to note that Carer’s Allowance is a financial support to people who cannot earn, or can only earn a limited income, due to their caring responsibilities and who have no other means or resources to rely upon. The Carer’s Allowance is not and never was intended to be a payment for the provision of caring.
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 use of means tests in the social welfare system is a method of targeting scarce resources to those that have most need. Removal of the means assessment for Carer’s Allowance, would not only change the nature of the scheme as an income support but would also have significant policy and budgetary implications and reduce the scope for the Department to provide income supports to lower income households.
The estimated cost of abolishing the means test for Carer’s Allowance and providing access to all those who fulfil the provision of full-time care condition is conservatively estimated in the region of €600m per annum. Those carers who rely solely on the income from the Carer’s Allowance payment would not benefit from the abolition of the disregard.
Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of significant improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance.
• In June 2022 the income disregards were 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 also increased from €20,000 to €50,000.
• Last month, the weekly income disregards were increased further, from €350 to €450 for a single person, and from €750 to €900 for carers with a spouse/partner.
These changes mean that carers on a reduced rate move to a higher payment. In addition, many carers who previously did not qualify for a payment due to their means are brought into the Carer's Allowance system for the first time.
The means test disregards for Carer's Allowance are the highest in the Social Welfare system.
Notwithstanding these improvements, as part of Budget 2024, I established an Interdepartmental Working Group with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to examine and review the system of means test for carer's payments. This work is ongoing, and I have asked the Group to report to me on the matter in Quarter 3 of this year.
It is also important to acknowledge that there are a range of other supports for carers provided by the Department which are not based on a means assessment.
• The Carer’s Support Grant can be claimed by carers regardless of their means or social insurance contributions. I increased this grant to €1,850, its highest ever rate.
• Carer's Benefit is a weekly payment based on social insurance contributions rather than a means test and is payable for a period of up to 2 years.
• Domiciliary Care Allowance is payable to a parent or guardian in respect of a child who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. As part of Budget 2024 we have increased the payment by another €10 bringing it to €340 per month.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
