Press release
Annual Carer’s Support Grant to be paid today
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, has announced that 114,000 carers will receive the annual Carer’s Support Grant today, Thursday 4 June. The annual grant of €1,700 is available to all carers providing full-time care to an older person or a person with a disability, regardless of their means or social insurance contributions.
The grant is paid in respect of each person being cared for to take account of the additional cost of providing care and to recognise the particular challenges faced by these carers. Some 11,000 carers who are providing care for two or more people will receive a grant in respect of each person they are caring for.
The Carer’s Support Grant is paid automatically to carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance (whether full rate or half rate), Carer’s Benefit, or Domiciliary Care Allowance. It is also available to other full-time carers who are not receiving any of these payments. Application forms along with full details on the grant are available on the department’s website at the following link: Carers Support Grant.
The estimated expenditure on the Carer’s Support Grant this year is €237.32 million.
Minister Doherty said:
“The Carer’s Support Grant is a very important annual payment of €1,700 to support our carers. I am very pleased to have been able to allocate over €237 million for this payment in 2020. Today, 125,000 grants will be paid automatically to 114,000 people receiving the Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit, and Domiciliary Care Allowance schemes. It is also available to full-time carers who are not in receipt of these payments. I urge these carers to apply for this grant. It is not means-tested and is assessed on the level of care being provided by the carer.”
In recent years the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has also been providing funding, as part of the Dormant Accounts Action Plans, to support training for carers.
On this, the Minister said:
“Officials in my department are currently working with Pobal in drawing up the specifications for a funding call under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2020 for specific measures dealing with working age carers and young carers. The call will go out in early Autumn this year."
ENDS
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection’s expenditure on Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant (formerly Respite Care Grant) was €1.2 billion in 2018. This increased to €1.3 billion in 2019. The estimated expenditure on these schemes for 2020 is €1.4 billion.