What is it?
This is a means tested payment for carers on low income who are looking after someone who needs care assistance because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. The value is up to €204 per week, if caring for one person, or up to €306 per week if caring for two people. If the carer is aged 66 years or over, the rates are up to €239 per week (for one person) or up to €358.50 per week (if caring for two people).
Who can claim it?
There are several rules which govern who can claim the Carer’s Allowance. The carer must:
- be aged 18 years or over,
- not be engaged in employment, self-employment, training or education courses outside the home for more than 15 hours per week. During any absences, adequate care for the person requiring full-time care must be arranged.
- be ordinarily resident in the State,
- not be living in a hospital, convalescent home or similar institution,
- be either living with the person being cared for, or in a position to provide full-time care an attention to the person requiring full-time care,
- not be living in a hospital, convalescent home or similar institution, however the carer or the person being cared for may be hospitalised for a period no longer than 13 weeks,
The person receiving care must be medically assessed, and determined to be incapacitated to such a degree as to require full-time care and continuous supervision in order to avoid dander to him orherself and to provide needed assistance in connection with normal bodily functions, and not normally living in a hospital, convalescent/nursing home, or similar institution. The need for such full-time care must be likely to last for a period of at least twelve months. If the person being cared for is a child in recipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance, then a further medical assessment for the Carer’s Allowance is not required.
Means Test
The Carer’s Allowance is meant to assist carers with low financial income. In order the qualify, an assessment is made of the applicant’s income (including that of the applicant’s spouse, civil partner or cohabitant), their assets (excluding their home). Capital assets (e.g. property, savings and investments) are fed into a calcuation to determine an equivalent weekly means. For mor information on this see Capital and Social Welfare Payments.
The first €332.50 of the carer’s gross weekly income is not taken into account (or disregared). If married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, the first €665 of the combined gross weekly income is disregared. PRSI, union dues, superannuation (pension contributions), and travel expenses are also deducted.
If the carer is in receipt of a social welfare payment from another State, an amount up to the maximum rate of the Irish State Pension (contributary) is exempt from the means test, however any amount over this threshold is treated as income for the means test.
If the carer is in receipt of other social welfare payments, and providing full-time care to another person, the carer may be entitled to get half-rate Carer’s Allowance in addition to their other payments.
How to Apply?
To apply for the Carer’s Allowance, the carer should complete the application form CR 1 and send it to the Department. If caring for more than one person, then the CR 2 form should be completed for each additional person.
The CR 1 and CR 2 forms have some sections which must be completed by the Doctor (GP) of the person receiving care unless the person is a child in receipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance. These sections include a detailed medical report.
For further information see the Carer’s Allowance page on the Department of Social Protection website.