Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
240. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the adequacy of financial supports available specifically for families with adult children with high support needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44679/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a comprehensive range of income supports to eligible family carers including Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit and the Carer's Support Grant. These income supports are available to family carers where they meet the eligibility conditions including those caring for adult children with high support needs. Expenditure on these supports in 2026 is estimated at over €2.2 billion.
Carer's Allowance is the main income support scheme for family carers payable at a weekly rate of up to €270 for those under 66 years and €308 for those over 66 years, supporting just under 108,000 carers. There have been a number of significant improvements made in recent years to the means test for Carer’s Allowance. Last July, the amount of weekly earnings disregarded was increased to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple. As part of Budget 2026, I announced that from next month, in July, the weekly income disregards will be further increased from €625 to €1,000 for a single person, and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers with a spouse, partner or co-habitant.
These improvements mean that, for example, a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will still retain their full carers payment and even with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment. These are the largest ever increases in the Carer’s Allowance income disregard and will mean that even people with what are relatively high incomes will qualify for a carer’s payment for the first time.
Half-rate Carer's Allowance is available to carers receiving another social welfare payment. This arrangement applies to almost all weekly social welfare payments and to people in receipt of increases for a qualified adult. For example, in the case of a person in receipt of a State Pension pension caring for their adult child, they can also receive a half-rate Carer's Allowance of up to €154 per week.
Carer's Benefit is a non-means tested payment made to insured people with sufficient PRSI contributions who may be required to leave the workforce, or reduce their working hours, to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is payable for a period of 104 weeks for each care recipient and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of 104 weeks. While Carer’s Benefit is not a means-tested payment, it is subject to an earnings limit. The earnings limit for Carer's Benefit will also be increased in line with the changes to the Carer's Allowance income disregards outlined above.
The non-means-tested annual Carer's Support Grant, payable at €2,000, is also available for all full-time carers and a grant is paid for each person being cared for. This grant was automatically paid last week, on Thursday 4 June, to over 147,000 carers.
In addition to these payments, people receiving Carer's Allowance may be eligible for other supports from my Department, such as the Household Benefits Package, Free Travel and Fuel Allowance. It is important to note that carers who receive Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit are automatically eligible for a free GP Visit Card from the Health Services Executive.
In line with Government commitments, I will continue to keep the range of financial supports available to carers, including those caring for adult children, under review. Any further improvements will be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.
