Mark Wall
Question:444. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the domiciliary care allowance from 16 to 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3288/26]
View answerThursday, 15 January 2026
Questions (444)
Written answers
Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly non-means-tested payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Expenditure in 2026 on the Domiciliary Care Allowance is estimated at almost €359 million.
Eligibility for Domiciliary Care Allowance stops when a child reaches 16 years of age at which point the young person may be eligible for Disability Allowance in their own right.
To calculate the cost of extending Domiciliary Care Allowance to parents or guardians of 16- and 17-year olds, it is necessary to look at the number of children currently aged 14 and 15 whose parents or guardians receive the payment. In 2025, there were approximately, 6,400 children aged 15 and over 6,250 children aged 14. The approximate cost of extending Domiciliary Care Allowance to these 14- and 15-year-olds when they turn 16 and 17 would be an additional €83 million per year. This costing assumes the 2026 monthly rate of €380 and the annual Carer’s Support Grant of €2,000 are paid in respect of these 12,674 recipients. It should be noted that there may be young people aged 16 and 17 now who would also qualify were the scheme extended to age 18 but there is no estimate of this number available to factor into the costing. In addition, estimated costings are subject to change.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Question No. 445 answered with Question No. 406.
Question No. 446 answered with Question No. 429.