73. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will amend the current weekly means limit for the increase for qualified adult allowance for recipients of the State pension and increase the current means limit of €100 which has been in place since 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66608/26]

My Department provides State Pension payments through the State Pension (Contributory), which is based on a person's social insurance record, and the State Pension (Non-Contributory), which is means-tested social assistance payment.

A State Pension (Contributory) recipient can claim an increase on their pension in respect of a qualified adult subject to a means test and where the eligibility conditions are satisfied.  Only the means of the spouse or partner of the claimant are assessed.  Where savings, property or other assets are held jointly, the spouse or partner's means is taken to be half of the total amount.

Article 7 of SI 142 of 2007, the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, as amended, sets out the income limit for the payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult across a range of schemes, not solely in respect of the State Pension (Contributory) scheme.

An Increase for Qualified Adult is payable at the maximum rate of payment where the means of the qualified adult are not more than €100 per week.

Reduced rates are payable where means are over €100 and not more than €310 per week.  No increase is payable where means are in excess of €310 per week.

Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years.

Any change to the income limit for the payment of an Qualified Adult Increase in respect of State Pension (Contributory), as suggested would need to take other schemes affected into account and would have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.