Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
48. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit to €325 a week; the full-year cost of increasing the monthly domiciliary care allowance to €400; and the full-year cost of increasing the annual carer support grant to €2,150. [31339/26]
View answerThe estimated full-year cost of increasing:
• Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit to €325 per week is €214.8 million
• Domiciliary Care Allowance from €380 to €400 per month is €17.5 million
• Carer Support Grant from €2,000 to €2,150 is €27.3 million
The cost of the increase in Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit to €325 per week is based on current rates for those under and over 66 years, and assumes people on half rate will receive a proportionate increase.
It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and the associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2026.
It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of payment, where relevant. Increasing the payment rates for these schemes to the levels as outlined in the question is likely to increase the take-up of these respective schemes and this additional inflow is difficult to estimate from a cost perspective.
