263. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons aged between 60 and 65 years-of-age who are in receipt of full carer’s allowance, by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66098/26]

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. Full-rate recipients have Carer's Allowance as their primary payment. 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.

The number of persons aged 60 to 65 who are in receipt of full-rate Carer's Allowance at the end of December in each of the years 2022 to 2025, and at the end of August 2026, are provided in the table below.

Table 1: Full rate Carer's Allowance recipients aged 60 to 65, by year