1990. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the domiciliary care allowance from 16 to 18 years of age, increasing the rate by €20 per month; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56680/26]

Domiciliary Care Allowance is a payment to a parent or guardian in respect of a child under 16 who has a severe disability and requires continuous care and attention, substantially more than is typically required by a child of the same age.  The payment is currently €380 per month, following the €20 increase introduced in January 2026.  This is paid with an annual Carer’s Support Grant of €2,000 which is payable in respect of each eligible child.

At present, over 64,800 families receive Domiciliary Care Allowance in respect of approximately 74,100 children, with estimated expenditure of almost €359 million in 2026.

Domiciliary Care Allowance stops when a child turns 16.  Where the young person continues to have a disability that significantly impacts daily living, they may apply for Disability Allowance in their own name.  Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and the Carer’s Support Grant may continue where full-time care remains in place.

To estimate the cost of extending Domiciliary Care Allowance to parents or guardians of 16 and 17 year olds, it is necessary to look at the number of children currently aged 14 and 15 whose parents or guardians receive the payment.  In 2025, there were approximately, 6,400 children aged 15 and over and a further 6,250 children aged 14.  The approximate cost of extending Domiciliary Care Allowance to these 14 and 15 year-olds when they turn 16 and 17 would be an additional €86 million per year.  This costing assumes an increase of €20 in the monthly rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance and the annual Carer’s Support Grant of €2,000 are paid in respect of these 12,674 recipients.  It should be noted that there may be young people aged 16 and 17 now who would also qualify were the scheme extended to age 18 but there is no estimate of this number available to factor into the costing.

Separately, increasing the monthly rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance by €20 for all existing recipients would cost approximately €17.8 million per year.  This figure is in addition to the estimated €86 million annual cost of extending the scheme to 16- and 17-year-olds.  Estimated costings are subject to change.

Any future reform of Domiciliary Care Allowance will be considered in the context of commitments set out in the Programme for Government and the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030.