Written answer
Social Welfare Eligibility
The Minister said Carer’s Allowance remains assessable household income for the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, unlike Working Family Payment and other exempt payments. No specific commitment was made to remove it; any change would be considered as part of the budget process.
80. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason carer's allowance payments are included in the calculation of income when deciding the eligibility for the BSCFA when other payments, such as WFP, are not; and whether there are plans to remove carers allowance from the BSCFA calculations. [67423/26]
Comment on this
The Government acknowledges and values the important role of family carers and is committed to continuing to improve the supports available to them.
The main income supports to carers provided by the Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Expenditure on these payments this year is expected to exceed €2.2 billion.
The Programme for Government commits to strengthening supports for family carers with a particular focus on the concerns raised by carers and their representative groups. The main priority has been the progressive removal of the Carer’s Allowance means test and substantial progress has been made in that regard.
In July 2025, the income disregards increased from €450 to €625 for a single person and from €900 to €1,250 for a couple. As part of Budget 2026, and with effect from July of this year, the Government further increased the weekly income disregard by 60%, from €625 to €1,000 for a single person, and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of a couple.
These changes are the largest ever increases in the history of the scheme with virtually all those in receipt of Carer's Allowance now in receipt of the maximum rate of payment. A carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 can retain their full Carer’s Allowance payment and with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment. This covers up to 90% of couple households.
A single carer working part-time can now earn up to €50,000 and retain their full Carer’s Allowance Payment. The disregard is over double the average earnings for part-time workers.
Progress has also been made on weekly carer rates of payments. In January 2026 there was a €10 increase in the maximum personal rate of Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit to €270 and €271, respectively, for carers aged under 66. For those aged 66 and over, the weekly rate for Carer’s Allowance is now €308. There are proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate. This is the fifth successive rise in weekly welfare rates which have increased by €51 over the last five years.
As part of Budget 2026, the monthly rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance was increased by €20, bringing it to €380 in January. This payment has increased by €70.50 per month since January 2023.
The Child Support Payment also increased to €78 for children aged 12 and over and €58 for those under 12.
The Carer’s Support Grant was increased by €150 to €2,000 in June 2025, its highest ever level. The grant is paid in respect of each person being cared for. This year’s grant was paid to over 147,000 carers on 4 June.
The Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year.
In order to qualify for Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, an applicant must satisfy a number of qualifying conditions, one of which requires the applicant’s household income to be within the relevant income limits. The income limits for the scheme are increased annually as part of the budget process.
The Weekly Household Income Limits for 2026 are:
* Limit is increased by €78.00 for each additional child.
The household income includes weekly social protection payments, gross income from employment, minus employee PRSI and a €20 travel allowance and any other income the household may have.
Any income from Working Family Payment, Child Benefit, Rent Supplement, Back to Work Family Dividend, Guardian’s Payments, Domiciliary Care Allowance, Blind Welfare Allowance, Foster Care Allowance, Higher Level Education grants is not assessable. Rehabilitative employment (up to €165 per week) is also not assessable.
Any future changes to the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme would have to be considered in an overall Budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.