72. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will report on the impact to date of the change in income disregards for the carer’s allowance which came into effect in July 2026. [67290/26]

The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers.  At the end of August there were 111,000 carers receiving this payment with a provision of €1.4 billion for 2026.

The Programme for Government has set out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget, with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of this Government.

This process is well underway.  As part of Budget 2026, I announced significant improvements to the means test that were introduced in July 2026.  The weekly income disregard increased by 60% from €625 to €1,000 for a single person, and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of couple.

These are the largest ever increases in the income disregards.

The impact of the increases meant that those recipients on a reduced payment due to means saw their payment increase.  Almost 2,700 carers received an increase in their Carer’s Allowance payment in July.  Furthermore, virtually all Carer’s Allowance recipients are now being paid at their maximum weekly rate.

In addition, more carers will qualify for Carer’s Allowance, even those in households that are regarded as having relatively high incomes.  For example, a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will retain their full Carer’s Allowance payment and with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment.

The improvements delivered to date demonstrate the Government’s determination to support carers.  Any further improvements will be considered as part of the Budget 2027 process in the context of the overall budgetary and policy framework.