Following changes announced in Budget 2025, more people are expected to qualify for a weekly social welfare payment worth up to €1,700 a month.
The Carer’s Allowance income disregard will increase to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple from July 2025.
The increase in income disregard allows recipients to earn more money before being excluded from the eligibility criteria for the payment.
The payment has also been hiked by €12 from Wednesday, 1 January, with proportional increases for qualified adults and people on reduced payment rates.
Carer’s Allowance is a weekly social welfare payment to people who care for someone because of their:
To qualify for the payment, your income must be below a certain amount. If you care for two or more people, your rate of Carer’s Allowance is increased by 50% (maximum) each week. If you get another social welfare payment, you may get a half-rate Carer’s Allowance.
Criteria
You can get Carer’s Allowance if you care full-time for someone who is:
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Aged 16 or over, and who is so incapacitated that they need full-time care and attention for at least 12 months or
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Aged under 16, and for whom you get Domiciliary Care Allowance.
As well as providing full-time care, you must:
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Be aged 18 or over
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Be habitually resident in Ireland
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Not be employed, self-employed, doing voluntary work, training, or any education courses for more than 18.5 hours a week.
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Not live in a hospital, convalescent home, or a similar institution
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Pass a means test
What counts as full-time care?
To get Carer’s Allowance, you must care full-time for someone who is:
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Aged 16 or over, and who is so incapacitated that they need full-time care and attention for at least 12 months or
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Aged 16 or over, and who is so incapacitated that they need full-time care and attention for at least 12 months or
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Aged under 16, and for whom you get Domiciliary Care Allowance.
Full-time care means:
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You continuously supervise the person so they don’t put themselves in danger or
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You continuously supervise and assist the person throughout the day with personal care (for example, helping them to eat, drink, get washed and dressed).
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You must care for them at least 35 hours per week, over 5-7 days.
The Department of Social Protection will decide if you are providing full-time care. You can find out more about the criteria and how much it’s worth here.