2008. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider the way in which greater support can be provided to persons acting as a carer for a family member while also working full time. [56783/26]

The key role of the Department of Social Protection is to provide income supports where an income need may arise due to, for example, caring responsibilities. The income supports provided for carers are not a payment for caring itself but provide an income support to people who cannot earn, or can only earn a limited income, and who have no other means or resources to rely upon due to their full-time caring responsibilities.

The main income supports for family carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €2.2 billion in 2026.

While these payments are based on the provision of full-time care and attention by the carer, they do allow carers to engage in work, training or education up to 18.5 hours per week. This threshold was increased from 15 hours as part of Budget 2020 following feedback from carers and carers' organisations who found the 15 hours too restrictive. In effect, this allows carers to participate in these activities for half of a full-time working week. During this time, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.

In the context of the provision of an income support, the 18.5-hour rule represents a reasonable balance between meeting the requirement for providing full-time care for the care recipient and supporting carers to engage in employment, education or training, supporting a carer’s continued connection to the workforce and broader social inclusion.

The issue the Deputy raises concerning Inheritance Tax which is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Finance.