Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 September 2026
263. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons aged between 60 and 65 years-of-age who are in receipt of full carer’s allowance, by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66098/26]
View answerCarer’s Allowance is a payment for people who are caring for a person who needs full-time care and attention because of age, disability, or illness, including mental illness. Full-rate recipients have Carer's Allowance as their primary payment. Where a person is already receiving certain social welfare payments and meets all the qualifying conditions for Carer’s Allowance, they may retain their primary social welfare payment and receive a half-rate Carer’s Allowance in addition to their primary payment; this is known as the half-rate Carer's Allowance.
The number of persons aged 60 to 65 who are in receipt of full-rate Carer's Allowance at the end of December in each of the years 2022 to 2025, and at the end of August 2026, are provided in the table below.
Table 1: Full rate Carer's Allowance recipients aged 60 to 65, by year
|
Year |
Recipients |
|
2022 |
5,665 |
|
2023 |
5,982 |
|
2024 |
6,291 |
|
2025 |
6,758 |
|
2026 (end August) |
7,239 |
