Thousands of carers to benefit from improvements to Carer’s Allowance – O’Shea

Carers will benefit from the largest ever increase to the Carer’s Allowance means test, which comes into effect today, a Fine Gael TD has said.

The weekly income disregard for Carer’s Allowance will increase from €625 to €1,000 for a single person, and from €1,250 to €2,000 for a couple – meaning a two-adult household earning up to roughly €110,000 will now keep their full Carer’s Allowance payment, rising to around €138,000 for a partial payment.

Chair of the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee John Paul O’Shea said:

“Carers are the backbone of our communities. They provide extraordinary care, often at enormous personal sacrifice, and for too long the system has failed to recognise that properly. These changes are the biggest increase to the disregards in the history of the scheme, and the numbers speak for themselves: of the nearly 108,000 people getting Carer’s Allowance, 99.9% are now on the maximum rate.

“In Cork, 389 carers will see their payments increase form today. I have heard from so many carers in Cork North-West for who these changes cannot come soon enough. This is something we pushed hard for and I am glad to see it now becoming a reality.”

“A single carer working part-time can now earn up to €50,000 and keep their full payment – more than double the average part-time wage. That’s a real recognition that caring and working shouldn’t be treated as mutually exclusive.

Deputy O’Shea encouraged anyone who may now qualify for Carer’s Allowance, or who believes their payment rate may increase, to contact their local Intreo office or visit gov.ie for further information.

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