Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2026
205. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans to adjust the qualifying criteria for carer's allowance so that those who care for someone for at least 30 hours per week can qualify; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12933/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined expenditure on these schemes in 2026 is expected to exceed €2.2 billion.
Carer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment for people who are looking after someone who needs support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. The primary objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced because of their caring responsibilities.
A primary qualifying condition for the Carer’s Allowance payment is that the applicant must be providing full-time care and attention. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care for at least 12 months. A person is regarded as providing full-time care where they provide at least 35 hours of care per week, over any five days in a seven-day period.
While carer income support payments are based on the provision of full-time care and attention, they also provide flexibility in terms of allowing carers to engage in work, training or education for up to 18.5 hours per week. In effect, a carer can engage in these activities for half of a full-time working week. During this time, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.
The 18.5-hour limit for Carer's Allowance reflects a careful balance between ensuring that the care recipient receives full-time care and enabling carers to maintain a connection to employment, training or education. Any proposal to amend this condition would need to preserve that balance and would have to be considered in the broader budgetary and policy context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
