115. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Social Protection if the Government plans to change the eligibility for carer’s allowance to include those who are on a community employment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27521/24]

Carer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment for people living in Ireland who are looking after someone who needs support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness.

A primary qualifying condition for the Carer’s Allowance payment is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need of such care.  The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention and be likely to require this full-time care and attention for at least 12 months.

A carer will be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person, where the number of hours providing such care is not less than 35 hours in a period of 7 consecutive days, and care is provided on any 5 days, whether consecutive or not, within a period of 7 consecutive days.

In order to support a carer’s continued attachment to the workforce, and to support broader social inclusion, recipients of Carer's Allowance may engage in some limited employment, education or training, up to 18.5 hours a week. During this time of employment, education or training, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.

The Community Employment (CE) programme is an active labour market programme, and its purpose is to help people who are long-term unemployed (or otherwise disadvantaged) to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities.

The duration of a CE placement is for 12 months, with some exceptions. Participants must work a minimum of 19.5 hours per week. As such, the minimum hours required under the CE scheme exceeds that allowable under the Carer's Allowance scheme.

A person may progress from Carer's Allowance to CE. The time spent on Carer’s Allowance can count towards the eligibility period, but a person’s caring responsibilities must have ceased, and they must currently be getting either Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit or One Parent Family Payment.

Any changes to the eligibility criteria for either scheme would have to be considered within a wider budgetary and policy context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.