Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
646. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will investigate the criteria applied to applications for carer's benefit (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71817/25]
View answerThe main income supports to family 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 estimated at over €2.2 billion in 2026.
Carer's Benefit is available to people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. It is payable for a period of two years for each care recipient and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of two years.
A person may qualify for Carer’s Benefit if they meet the PRSI and other conditions of the scheme and have been engaged in full-time employment for at least eight weeks in the previous 26 weeks.
Full-time employment in this context is defined as engaged insurable employment for at least 16 hours per week or 32 hours per fortnight. This condition does not need to be satisfied on a second or subsequent claim where a person was in receipt of Carer's Benefit within the previous 26 weeks.
The legislation governing Carer’s Benefit outlines the circumstances by which a carer on leave from employment may satisfy the conditions of engagement in full-time employment as an employed contributor. Specifically, the condition is deemed to have been satisfied where the person was on adoptive leave, health and safety leave, maternity leave, parental leave, parent’s leave or paternity leave, having been engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employed contributor for 8 weeks, whether consecutive or not, within the relevant period. The person to whom the Deputy refers in the details provided was on sick leave prior to their application for Carer's Benefit and periods of sick leave are not covered by these provisions.
Where a full-time carer is not eligible for Carer’s Benefit, they may apply for the means-tested Carer’s Allowance. It should be noted that significant improvements have been made to the means test for Carer’s Allowance which will result in more carers qualifying for Carer’s Allowance. I would encourage anyone who is unsure if they meet the criteria to apply for these payments, including the person to whom the Deputy refers.
In July the weekly income disregards for Carer’s Allowance increased from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. As part of Budget 2026 I announced that from next July, the weekly income disregards will be increased from €625 to €1,000 for a single person, and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers with a spouse, partner or co-habitant.
These improvements mean that, for example, a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will still retain their full Carers payment and even with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment.
These are the largest ever increases in the Carer’s Allowance income disregard and will mean that even people with what are relatively high incomes will qualify for a carer’s payment for the first time.
In addition, the Carer's Support Grant is available to full-time family carers whether or not they are in receipt of another carer payment from my Department. It is neither means tested nor based on a person's social insurance contribution record. The grant is paid annually in June. It currently stands at €2,000 in respect of each care recipient.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
