Minister Calleary addresses Annual Carers’ Forum

The Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary today addressed the Annual Carers’ Forum held in Dublin.

The Annual Carers’ Forum provides an opportunity for government departments, carer organisations and family carers to discuss the issues that affect family carers on a day-to day basis.

This year’s forum featured themed workshops on health, social protection supports, transport, housing for people with disabilities and older individuals, and issues affecting young carers. These sessions facilitated open dialogue and provided valuable insights into how government policies impact carers and those they support.

Speaking at the event, Minister Calleary said:

“As Minister for Social Protection, I have engaged with carers and met with the carer organisations. The Annual Carers' Forum provides a valuable opportunity to deepen my understanding of the challenges they face and to listen to their concerns firsthand.”

“We will see significant increases in financial support for carers, starting next month. From June 2025, the Carer’s Support Grant will increase to €2,000 – that’s the highest level ever. In addition, from July 2025, the weekly income disregards for Carer’s Allowance will increase, making the scheme accessible to more families.”

“Events like today’s highlight the importance of collaboration and open dialogue. Many of the positive changes introduced for carers have come directly from listening to their experiences, and I want to assure you that I remain fully committed to this process.”

“The Programme for Government is ambitious for carers. Importantly, we will continue to significantly increase the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the government.”

Government departments and agencies represented at today’s Carer’s Forum included the Department of Health; the Department of Children, Disability and Equality; the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the Department of Transport, the National Transport Authority and Tusla.

A note of the proceedings of the Annual Carers’ Forum 2025 will be made available online at gov.ie/carersforum.

Pictures from today’s Annual Carers’ Forum sent separately by Maxwell Photography.

Direct engagement with carers has helped to inform important improvements to carer supports in recent years, including:

• the number of hours a carer could engage in education, training or employment was increased from 15 to 18.5 hours
• the capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment has increased from €20,000 to €50,000. A carer with a spouse/partner can now have capital of up to €100,000
• in June 2025, the Carer’s Support Grant will increase by €150, to €2,000. The highest rate ever for this grant
• in January 2025, Carer’s Allowance increased by €12 with proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate as part of Budget 2025 measures. This is the fourth successive rise in weekly welfare rates. Rates have increased by €41 over the last 4 years
• in January 2025, weekly rates of Child Support Payment (previously known as Increase for a Qualified Child) increased by €8 to €62 for those aged 12 and over, and by €4 to €50 for under 12s
• in July 2025, the Carer's Allowance weekly income disregard will increase from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse/partner. Since June 2022, this amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 for a single carer and €585 for a carer who is part of couple
• Carer’s Allowance became a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance – the other qualifying conditions for Fuel Allowance must also be satisfied
• as part of Budget 2025, the Carer’s Benefit payment has been extended to the self-employed for the first time and from July 2025 the earnings limit will increase from €450 to €625, after tax
• also, as part of Budget 2025, Domiciliary Care Allowance increased by €20, bringing it to €360. This payment has increased by €50.50 per month since January 2023
• last year, a new Long-Term Carers Contribution scheme was introduced. Under the scheme, a person who has been a full-time carer for an incapacitated dependent for at least 20 years (1,040 weeks), can get Long-Term Carers Contributions to cover gaps in their contribution record which can help them qualify for the State Pension (Contributory)
• in addition, over the last number of Budgets, there have been a suite of once-off lump sum and double payments to assist with the cost of living and rising bills