Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
56. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration could be given to a compassionate approach to the reduction of entitlements for a carer following the death of a person. [31075/26]
View answerThe Government recognises the contribution that family carers make to Irish society and we are committed to supporting them.
The Department of Social Protection provides a comprehensive range of income supports for our family carers including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant.
The Department already recognises the need for a transition period during which people can grieve and plan for a life following the death of a family member.
Payment of Carer's Allowance continues to be made for a further 12 weeks after the death of the person being cared for. It should also be noted that in circumstances where a person is in receipt of another social welfare payment together with a Half-rate Carer’s Allowance, then this payment will also continue for 12 weeks.
In the case of Carer’s Benefit, if the person being cared for dies, the payment will continue for a period of 6 weeks.
Domiciliary Care Allowance continues to be paid for three months in cases where the child being cared for has sadly died.
The Carer’s Support Grant, which is paid on the first Thursday in June will automatically be paid where Carer’s Allowance or Carer's Benefit is paid on that date. This also includes instances where the person being cared for has passed away before that date.
It should be noted that there are also supports available from my department under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme. This includes financial assistance with funeral expenses. These payments are administered by the Community Welfare Service and are payable at the discretion of the officer taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.
I fully appreciate the need to have appropriate and compassionate arrangements in place for continuing payments after death, and will ensure that this continues.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
