Carer’s Benefit is a payment made to insured people who may be required to leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a person(s) in need of full time care.
It is payable for a period of 2 years (104 weeks) for each care recipient and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of 2 years (104 weeks).
You may qualify for Carer’s Benefit if you meet these requirements:
You may be able to get Carer’s Benefit if you care for a child who qualifies for Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA). You do not have to be the person who gets the allowance for the child to be the child’s carer.
If you are away, you must be able to arrange adequate full-time care and attention for the person you care for.
A person is regarded as requiring full-time care and attention when:
or
You can get Carer’s Benefit for up to 104 weeks for each person you care for.
You can claim your payment in a single period or in separate periods for up to 104 weeks. If you claim Carer’s Benefit for less than six weeks in a row in any period, you must wait for a further six weeks before you can claim Carer’s Benefit to care for the same person again.
If you are caring for more than one person, you may get a payment for 104 weeks for each person you care for. This may result in the care periods overlapping or running at the same time (concurrently).
Carer’s Benefit is €220 a week for 1 care recipient.
A person caring for two or more people may receive a higher rate of €330 a week.
If you have a child/children you may be entitled to apply for an Increase for a Qualified Child.
It is recommended that you apply for Carer’s Benefit at least 6 weeks before you plan to leave work.
To apply, fill in the form, including a doctor’s medical report that is also signed by the person you will be caring for.
You do not need a medical report if you are caring for a child getting Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA).
Return the application form at the end of this page, and the relevant supporting documentation, to:
Application Form: Carer's Benefit (additional person) CARB2
Application form to apply for an additional person
DownloadOperational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.
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