Care Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-18
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I thank Deputy McAuliffe. The annual carers’ forum was held on 7 May this year and I was delighted to attend and speak at the forum. The carers' forum is an important platform within the Department of Social Protection and allows family carers to engage directly with my Department and officials from other Departments to discuss important issues and carers' invaluable role in Irish society. I thank Family Carers Ireland and Care Alliance Ireland for partnering with my Department in organising the forum and contributing to its success. The event brings together family carers, carer organisations and Government officials in structured dialogue and, more importantly, for the sharing of personal lived experiences.
A broad range of issues were addressed, including proposals relating to the carer’s allowance means test and measures aimed at improving access to supports. The workshops also highlighted cross-Government concerns, such as access to respite services, which we discussed earlier, housing and transport. We published a comprehensive note of proceedings on my Department’s website.
We fully recognise the vital contribution of family carers and as a Government, we are committed to supporting them. I am pleased to confirm that, from next month, the weekly income disregard for carer's allowance will increase from €625 to €1,000 for a single person and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers with a spouse or partner. These are the highest ever increases. They will enable individuals with higher incomes to qualify for carer’s payments. For example, a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will retain their full payment and even with an income of €138,000, they will retain a partial payment. Additionally, the annual carer's support grant was paid earlier this month at a rate of €2,000 to over 147,000 carers at a cost of €336 million. We will have further engagement at our annual pre-budget forum on 1 July with the carers groups. These will all inform my priorities for budget 2027, the work for which is under way.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-18