Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
65. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the progress his Department has made in implementing the Programme for Government commitments to increasing social protection payments and supports for family carers. [31338/26]
View answerThe Government recognises and values the important role of family carers and we are committed to continuing to improve the supports available to them.
The main income supports to 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 this year is expected to exceed €2.2 billion.
Significant progress has been made in terms of increasing social protection payments and supports for family carers. In this regard, as part of Budget 2026 I announced a range of measures which take effect this year:
• In January there was a €10 increase in the maximum personal rates of Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit. This was the fifth successive rise in weekly welfare rates which have increased by €51 over the last five years.
• Also in January, there was 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, the Carer's Allowance income disregard will increase 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 from €625 to €1,000, after tax. It's also important to note that since January 2025, the Carer's Benefit payment has become available to the self-employed.
• Where eligible, Carer’s Allowance recipients benefitted from the increase to the Fuel Allowance payment of €5 per week. Those cares would also have benefited from the recent four week extension to the fuel season which we introduced in response to high energy costs.
• For carers with children the weekly rates of the Child Support Payment have increased by €16 to €78 for children aged 12 and over, and by €8 to €58 for under 12s. This is the largest Child Support Payment increase in the history of the State.
These recent improvements are evidence of the Government’s determination to deliver on its commitment to increasing social protection payments and supports for family carers as set out in the Programme for Government. We will continue to deliver on these commitments over this Dáil term in an overall Budgetary and policy context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
