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1395. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider amending the rules on carer’s allowance in order that a person who is in receipt of a State pension would also be eligible to qualify for the full rate of carer’s allowance, as many older people are providing full-time care for a loved one in need, this care is crucial to the State; and if he will make a statement…

549. Deputy John Lahart asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the extent to which carer’s allowance impacts tax credits, rate bands and overall PAYE liability in jointly assessed households; whether the Department has undertaken any assessment of the effective net benefit of carer’s allowance for working families; and if he will outline any proposals under consideration to reform the taxatio…

1144. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the position in relation to reviews of carer’s allowance carried out in 2026; specifically if a carer is reviewed and is slightly over the current income limits but will be under the new income limits for carer’s allowance which take effect in July will their payment be impacted or will the Department apply some discretion in t…

265. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection if the State provides any direct support or assistance in meeting the requirement for continuous supervision under the carer's allowance scheme, particularly in cases where the full burden of care cannot be met by one individual alone; and when he plans to abolish means testing for carer's allowance, as previously committed to in ele…

1324. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection whether a full review is being carried out on the carer’s allowance payment by this Department; the current status of this review; whether consideration will be given as part of this review to allowing for a full-rate carer’s allowance payment to be paid to persons on a widow’s pension, and other eligible payments; and if he will …

130. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department will consider amending the rules governing the carer's allowance to permit people who are in receipt of a State Pension and who are providing full-time care to another pensioner to receive the full rate of carer's allowance, rather than the current reduced payment; whether he acknowledges that many older car…

63. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the current average processing times for carer's allowance; the steps his Department is taking to reduce delays and barriers faced by applicants in applying for this payment; the plans in place to deal with increased applications post July 2026 when the latest changes to the carer's allowance scheme come into place; and if he wil…

377. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will review the operation of the overlapping payments rules which limit a person in receipt of a State pension to a reduced-rate carer's allowance, notwithstanding that they provide full-time care and attention to a person requiring such care; whether an assessment has been carried out of the financial impact of this polic…

768. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the continued means testing of the carer's allowance, given that caring is a constant, full time role that does not operate on defined hours or shift patterns, and places significant mental, physical and emotional demands on carers; if he accepts that the current system does not adequately reflect the value of unpa…

633. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the average processing time for applications for disability allowance, carer’s allowance and invalidity pension in County Cork for each month in 2025 and to date in 2026; the number of applications currently awaiting decision; the steps being taken to reduce waiting times and improve decision turnaround; and if he will make a st…

1185. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the current average waiting times for disability allowance, carer’s allowance and domiciliary care allowance applications across the State. [42357/26]

440. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the current processing times for disability allowance, carer’s allowance and domiciliary care allowance applications in County Laois; and the actions being taken to reduce delays for applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3141/26]

198. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on whether migrants and refugees will be discouraged from accessing education, training and upskilling supports that require people to be in receipt of a social welfare payment in light of proposals from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to penalise migrants and refugees who rely on essential social we…

262. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he has given consideration to the human rights impact of penalising migrants and refugees who rely on essential social welfare supports such as disability allowance, carer's allowance or working family payment in terms of eligibility for naturalisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70602/25]

284. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the human rights impact of proposals to penalise migrants and refugees who rely on essential social welfare supports such as disability allowance, carer's allowance or working family payment in terms of eligibility for naturalisation, if her Department was consulted; and if she will make a statement on th…

1360. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection the current processing times for disability allowance, carer's allowance and social welfare appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45494/25]

145. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address the significant delays in processing disability allowance, carer’s allowance, and domiciliary care allowance applications for residents in Dublin Bay north, with many constituents waiting in excess of 14 weeks for decisions; the actions being taken to recruit additional staff, streamline the assessment process, …

838. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection the average waiting times for applications for disability allowance, carer's allowance and appeals; the work her Department has undertaken to reduce these waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46176/24]

24. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to engage with the Minister for Finance in relation to carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit being made tax exempt in line with other social welfare payments, including jobseeker’s allowance and disability allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15138/26]

48. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit to €325 a week; the full-year cost of increasing the monthly domiciliary care allowance to €400; and the full-year cost of increasing the annual carer support grant to €2,150. [31339/26]

211. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will make the carer's allowance and carer's benefit tax exempt and non-means-tested, the same as other social welfare supports including disability allowance, jobseeker's allowance, domiciliary care allowance and child benefit, in recognition of carers saving the State over €20 billion each year through their unpaid care; a…

397. Deputy John Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether his Department or the Revenue Commissioners maintain aggregate data, or will estimate, the total amount of income tax recouped by the Exchequer from carer's allowance and carer's benefit payments since the introduction of real time data sharing and PAYE collection with the Department of Social Protection on 1 January 202…

15. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current average processing times for disability allowance and carer’s allowance applications in Galway east; the steps being taken to address delays being experienced by applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31110/26]

337. Deputy John Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the amount of tax revenue recouped annually by the Exchequer from carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit payments, including the impact of the real-time reporting and collection arrangements introduced from January 2026, and whether he has examined the estimated cost of making these payments fully tax-exempt (details supplied); a…

404. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the estimated cost of making the carer's allowance and carer's benefit tax-exempt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20750/26]

I thank the Deputy for his question. I take it that it concerns people in receipt of the one-parent family allowance, domiciliary care allowance and the half-rate carer's allowance in respect of a child who is turning 16 this year. Of the approximately 10,200 people currently in receipt of both the one-parent family payment and half-rate carer's allowance, approximately 390 will cease being in thi…

The acid test of the bona fides of this Government on carers and caring is the immediate abolition of the means test for the carer's allowance. This has been the demand of carers and Family Carers Ireland for years and was promised by all political parties during the course of the last general election. It was understood by the public that the means test would be abolished within the first 100 day…

I welcome this motion from Independent Ireland. It is very well written and if implemented would make a significant difference to carers and people who are cared for. Care is the most valuable service delivered in Ireland now. First and most significant, it is most valuable in human terms. The relationships we have with people are actually the most important things that exist. When we strip everyt…

We are having that impact. We are also looking at a pay-related approach in a number of other areas. The increases in PRSI that are contained in the PRSI roadmap are to address the future sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund, as well as pay-related benefit schemes. I remind the House that we are paying up to €450 per week to recipients under this scheme, which is €200 more than jobseekers'…

I thank Deputy Moynihan again for raising this matter. The Government recognises the complexity of caring roles and the reality that many carers continue to provide full-time care while navigating other life events, including maternity leave. As I said in my opening remarks, this Government has committed to improving support for carers and those they care for. The significant changes to the means …

I thank all my colleagues who supported our motion. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, emphasised in his response to the motion that he will not be opposing it and that there is "nothing between us", regarding the means test for carer's allowance. Yet, there is a major difference between abolishing the means test for carer's allowance in budget 2026 and abolishing it in budget 2030. Within that gulf b…

As the Deputy knows, the carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support for carers. Currently, just over 108,000 carers receive this payment, with a provision of over €1.4 billion euro this year. The carer's support grant is a separate payment that was paid to over 147,000 carers on 4 June 2026, at a rate of €2,000 per person being cared for, marking an investm…

I thank the Deputy. I formally congratulate him on his election and welcome him back to Leinster House. The carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to the very important work done by carers in the community. The primary objective of the carer's allowance payment is to provide an income support to those carers whose earning capacity is substantially redu…

I recently met a lady in my constituency of Meath West who was finally approved for a carer's allowance nine years after she first started to care for her beautiful daughter who has many additional and complex needs. A short time later, this lady's husband got a modest increase in what is a good income, shall we say. That income, though, does pay for many private supports and therapies they need t…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — a cost-of-living crisis exists in this State; — Budget 2026 was predicated on an inflation rate of 2 per cent, but it is now at 3.2 per cent; — prices have increased by 23.5 per cent in the last five years; — food prices have increased by 5 per cent in the last year; — Irish electricity prices are among the highest in the European Union (EU), 24 per …

I am disappointed to see that the senior Minister has left the House. Nobody ever gets rich from social welfare. Nobody ever makes a profit from social welfare. We can put that idea to rest in this House and put it on the record. When it comes to carer's allowance, €20 billion is being saved by the State from people caring. We have application forms as long as my arm in which people are meant to g…

I also thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion forward. I do not doubt the Minister's bona fides on this matter. He is a good man. I am well aware that it is more than likely there are people coming into his constituency office and applying for carer's allowance. I do not doubt that. At the same time, people - women are predominantly the carers in this country - are feeling significant…

The programme for Government, as the Deputy knows, commits to increasing the carer’s allowance disregard, with a view to phasing it out over the lifetime of the Government, which is another four years. Removing the means test is a significant shift in policy direction and, therefore, this is a prudent and sustainable approach for us to take. I announced further improvements in budget 2026 to the …

It has been a little over a month since the Minister for Finance and Minister for public expenditure stood in this Chamber and delivered to the country this Government's budget for 2026. We heard on that day all about the choices this Government was making - which industries it wanted to give tax breaks to, which boardrooms would be popping Champagne, and which food chains would see bumper profits…

The Deputy mentioned the carer's allowance. The half-rate carer's allowance was brought in. Former Deputy Joe Callanan from east Galway and I put a motion before the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party many years ago regarding the half-rate carer's allowance. We had been banging our heads off a stone wall for some time but Séamus Brennan, the then Minister, accepted our bona fides, particularly as reg…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "acknowledges that: — the State provides a broad range of income, education, health and other supports for disabled people, has increased investment in these supports and under the leadership of the Cabinet Committee of Disability Matters chaired by the Taoiseach, will continue to prioritise further i…

My Department is committed to providing quality service to all, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made in a timely manner. We absolutely understand the pressures people face, and we ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently. There are almost 170,000 people in receipt of disability allowance and more than 100,000 people in receipt of care…

Deputy Nash really does not like burgers, but we will get to that in a second. This Government has taken a number of actions in endeavouring to assist people. We should remind ourselves that in the country we live in, there are over 2.8 million people who got up and went to work this morning - the highest number ever. Figures from the CSO show the average weekly wage is now over €1,000. Yes, we a…

I welcome the Minister's reply. I also welcome the increases in the income rates to allow people to qualify for the carer's allowance. I recognise and welcome the commitment of the Government to a phasing out of the means test for the carer's allowance. I welcome the improved benefits under the carer's allowance scheme, the extension of the allowance to the self-employed and the provision of acce…

I take this opportunity to officially congratulate the Deputy on his election. Spending on income supports for carers by the Department of Social Protection is expected to amount to over €1.9 billion this year. The carer’s allowance scheme is the main scheme by means of which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2025, the expenditure on the carer’s allowance scheme…

This is a very serious issue, which I take on board. It is one I am keen to progress. It is governed by the national access plan for higher education 2022-28 which sets out the ambition for an inclusive and diverse higher education sector. An important component of that plan is its recognition and naming of additional priority groups which are considered marginalised or disadvantaged. This include…

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising a very important issue. We value the work of carers. Michael Woods brought in the carer's allowance quite a number of years ago. He was a Fianna Fáil Minister for social protection and at the time it was a novel concept. It was quite innovative. It started at a very low level, but incrementally things have improved significantly. We committed in the programme for …

There are supports. There are additional supports as well. It is important that everybody is aware of them in order that they do not miss them. We know that the carer's support grant increased to €2,000 last June. I refer to those who are getting carer's allowance at both the full rate and the half-rate and other full-time carers. The household benefits package is available to help to meet the cos…

I also welcome the delegation that is here. I fully support this Labour Party motion. Family carers are a large group of people who have been tragically neglected by the State. They provide vital unpaid care, often under severe financial pressure and with huge personal sacrifice. In the case of young carers, this sacrifice can include losing out on parts of childhood and carrying unsustainable emo…

I thank Deputy Wall for his question. The Government recognises the important and valuable role of family carers and we - myself in particular - are committed to continuing to improve the supports available to them. Carer's allowance provides a personal rate for the carer with additional increases for child dependants. If the carer is providing full-time care to more than one person, the rate pa…