2025. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of carer's allowance who receive a half rate payment, broken down by those who are in receipt of another qualifying social welfare payment, those caring for a person who is in receipt of a social welfare payment, those providing care to two or more persons but who do not receive the full rate of carer's allowance in respect of each person cared for, and any other category under which a half rate carer's allowance is payable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60297/26]

Carer’s Allowance is a payment for people who are caring for a person who needs full-time care and attention because of age, disability, or illness, including mental illness. Where a person is already receiving certain social welfare payments and meets all the qualifying conditions for Carer’s Allowance, they may retain their primary social welfare payment and receive a half-rate Carer’s Allowance in addition to their primary payment; this is known as the half-rate Carer's Allowance.

Detailed breakdowns in respect of the schemes paid in conjunction with the half-rate Carer's Allowance are published in the Department's Annual Statistics Reports, available through gov.ie/dsp/statistics. As of 31 December 2025, there were 104,522 recipients of Carer's Allowance, who were caring for a total of 118,330 carees. Some 53% of carers were in receipt of the full-rate Carer's Allowance, while 47% received Carer's Allowance plus another primary payment. A breakdown by rate is set out in the table below.

Of the 104,522 recipients of a Carer's Allowance, 91,253 were caring for one person, while 13,269 were caring for two or more people. The breakdown by the full rate and half rate Carer's Allowance is set out in the table below.

Of the 118,333 carees on Carer's Allowance, there were 75,335 who were in receipt of a social welfare payment in their own right. The breakdown by whether the carer is on a full rate or a half rate is shown below.