2097. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to recipients of carer's allowance that may engage in employment or self-employment for up to 18.5 hours per week while retaining their payment, whereas participation in a community employment scheme generally requires a commitment of 19.5 hours per week; whether he has examined the impact this discrepancy has on carers who wish to participate in community employment; and if he will consider introducing a specific exemption or amendment to allow recipients of carer's allowance to undertake the required 19.5 hours on a community employment scheme without losing their entitlement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58887/26]

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. The primary objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced as a consequence of their caring responsibilities.

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 is 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 seven consecutive days, and care is provided on any five days, whether consecutive or not, within a period of seven consecutive days.

While carer income support payments are based on the provision of full-time care and attention, they also provide flexibility in terms of allowing carers to engage in work, training or education for up to 18.5 hours per week. In effect, a carer can engage 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.

Both the full-time care and attention requirement and the 18.5-hour limitation are contained in the respective legislative provisions of the Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and Carer’s Support Grant schemes.

The objectives of the Community Employment Programme are inconsistent with the requirements of the Carer's Allowance scheme. The Community Employment programme is an active labour market programme. 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. Participants can take up other part-time work during their Community Employment placement and are encouraged to seek permanent employment after their placement ends. Participants must work for 19.5 hours per week.

A person may progress from Carer's Allowance to Community Employment. The time spent on Carer’s Allowance can count towards the eligibility period, however a person’s caring responsibilities must have stopped.

The 18.5-hour limitation for Carer’s Allowance represents a balance between:

• the needs of the care recipient, who requires full-time care, and

• the needs of the carer to maintain a connection to work, training or education

Any proposals for changes to this condition would need to maintain this balance, and any changes to the eligibility criteria for either scheme would have to be considered within a wider budgetary and policy context.