Cormac Devlin
Question:105. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection for an overview of the Budget 2026 measures to support carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62061/25]
View answerThursday, 13 November 2025
Questions (105)
Written answers
Last month, as part of Budget 2026, I announced a number of measures to support family carers, these include:
• A Christmas Bonus double payment will be paid in December 2025.
• From January 2026 there will be a €10 increase in the maximum rate of Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit. There will be proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate. This is the fifth successive rise in weekly welfare rates which have increased by €51 over the last five years.
• Also in January, there will be a €20 increase to the monthly Domiciliary Care Allowance payment, bringing it to €380. This payment has increased by €70.50 per month since January 2023.
• From July 2026, there will be an increase in the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple. Since June 2022, this amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €667.50 and €1,335 respectively, or an increase of just over 200%.
• In line with Carer’s Allowance, the earnings limit for Carer’s Benefit will also increase next year from €625 to €1,000, after tax.
• Where eligible, Carer’s Allowance recipients will benefit from the increase to the Fuel Allowance payment of €5 per week.
• For carers with children the weekly rates of the Child Support Payment will increase by €16 to €78 for children aged 12 and over, and by €8 to €58 for under 12s in January 2026.
The Programme for Government includes a range of commitments in relation the supports provided by my Department to family carers. The Budget 2026 improvements to the various carer income support payments demonstrate the Government’s determination to continue to deliver on these commitments.
I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.