Social Welfare Payments
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I acknowledge the Deputy as one who has constantly and consistently championed this issue. As I said, we have consistently improved our support for carers and €2.2 billion will be provided for carer's income supports in 2026. The carer's allowance is the main income support payment for family carers. Over 111,000 people are receiving the payment at an estimated cost of more than €1.4 billion. The carer's support grant is automatically paid to people in receipt of carer's allowance, carer's benefit and domiciliary care allowance. Other carers who are not in receipt of a carer's payment may also be eligible for the grant. A separate grant is paid for each person being cared for. The grant was increased by €150 to €2,000 in June 2025, which is the highest ever level. In June of this year, over 147,000 carers perceived the grant. The grant is not means-tested and is non-taxable. The estimated investment in the grant in 2026 was over €364 million. We are continuing to accept applications for the grant so anyone who may have an entitlement can make an application through his or her local office or through mywelfare.ie . In the context of budget 2027, we are continuing to negotiate our budget with the Department of public expenditure. We will have a package for carers within that programme but we have not finalised our discussions yet. They will be announced on budget day on 6 October.

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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