€1 million from Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan 2018 made available to provide training and supports for Family Carers

€1 million has been made available to provide a range of training and supports for family carers. This coincides with the launch of a new application form for Carer’s Allowance, developed in consultation with representative groups, ensuring that the application process fully captures the care requirement and reflects the level of care provided by the carer. This consultative approach ensures that the experience of carers and care recipients informs service development and that the ”voice of the carer” is acknowledged.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) will sponsor the new round of funding under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2018, which includes a measure to promote training and supports for family carers. The measure includes the provision of structured training, information and support networks under the theme of personal and social development of people who are economically or socially disadvantaged. The new measure will be administered and managed by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in accordance with Pobal’s service agreement with the Lead Department (Department of Rural and Community Development).

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty, T.D., said:

“Following the announcement earlier this week by my colleague Minister of State Séan Kyne, on the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2018, I am delighted to announce that €1 million is being made available, under the 2018 plan, for project proposals which provide training, information and related support services for family carers. The purpose of this measure will be to assist carers to provide the best care possible to the care recipient; to reduce the risk of injury to the carer and care recipient and to help family carers cope with the emotional and psychological aspects of their role.

Funding will also be made available to provide for the dissemination of resource information for carers, the development of support networks, the development of support groups to assist with transition at the end of the caring role, and measures that assist in promoting carer self-identification. This measure is additional to the €1 million allocated under the 2017 Dormant Accounts Action Plan. Pobal is issuing a call for proposals under both action plans and details of the application process are available on their website. I would encourage groups providing supports to family carers to read the material provided on this website on the specific guidelines attached to the measure.”

Minister Doherty also announced today the introduction of a new application form for the Carer’s Allowance scheme. The Carer’s Allowance is the Department’s primary means-tested payment for carers who look after children and adults who require full-time care and attention.

Following extensive consultation with stakeholder groups, the new application form, which includes a "Care Report" section, has been designed to help carers to provide important information in respect of the care needs of the person they are caring for and the type of care they are providing in a more user friendly way. It is intended that the new form will not only be more user friendly but will also contribute to greater efficiency in processing times for Carer’s Allowance.

Minister Doherty said:

“Carer’s Allowance provides a valuable income support to people who cannot work full-time because they are caring for someone in their home. Over 77,000 carers currently receive a weekly Carer’s Allowance payment from my Department and it is a unique payment in that a person can receive a reduced rate Carer’s Allowance while also receiving another social welfare payment.

The new form includes a Care Report section which has been designed following consultation between officials and medical assessors of my Department and representatives and members of Family Carers Ireland. I would like to pay tribute to the excellent work done by all involved with this.

The new design allows the carer’s voice to be better heard as they can now provide more relevant information in respect of the care needs of the person they are caring for and the type of care they actually provide each day. I believe this new form will help carers provide the officials in my Department with the information they need to help them make a decision on entitlement as quickly as possible.”

The form is available here.

There are currently over 77,000 people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and the estimated expenditure on the scheme this year will be almost €730 million.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

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) has increased from €991,809 million in 2016 to €1,110,664 million in 2017.

The estimated expenditure on these schemes for 2018 is in excess of €1,185,890 million.

Pobal is a not-for-profit intermediary organisation that manages various funding programmes on behalf of the Irish Government and the EU. www.pobal.ie

The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001-2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (i.e. banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings.

The main purpose of the legislation is to reunite account or policy holders with their funds in credit institutions or insurance undertakings and in this regard, these bodies are required to take steps to identify and contact the owners of dormant accounts and unclaimed life assurance policies.

However, in order to utilise the unused funds in dormant accounts and unclaimed policies to best use, the legislation also introduced a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed from dormant accounts and unclaimed policies for the purposes of measures to assist:

• the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged
• the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged or
• persons with a disability