Budget 2027
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I thank the Deputy. The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by carers and we have prioritised improvements in supports for carers in recent budgets. We have provided over €2.2 billion for caring income supports in 2026. That included a €10 increase in the maximum personal rate of carer's allowance and carer's benefit to €270 and €271, respectively, for carers under 66. For carers aged 66 and over the maximum weekly rate increased to €308. For carers with children the weekly rates of the child support payment increased by €16 to €78 for children aged 12 and over and by €8 to €58 for under-12s from January 2026. This was the largest child support payment increase in the history of the State.
In budget 2026, the weekly income disregards for carer's allowance were increased significantly to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple, which built on significant improvements introduced in recent budgets. As a result, a carer in a two-adult household with an income of €110,000 will retain their full carer’s allowance payment and receive a partial payment with a household income up to €138,000. This means virtually all those receiving carer's allowance are now receiving the maximum rate. The Government has also provided a range of other supports, including the payment of the carer's support grant, and the €20 increase to domiciliary care allowance.
We are engaging with the Department of public expenditure on potential budget measures. Discussions are still going on and the Ministers for Finance and public expenditure will reveal the budget on 6 October. I assure the Deputy we are very committed to moving forward on our shared programme for Government commitments to carers and to supporting them and I am continuing to focus on that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-24