By Shauna Bannon Ward
Thousands more people will qualify for a weekly social welfare payment worth €447 as income rules change.
The Carer’s Allowance is a weekly social welfare payment to people who care for someone because of their age, disability, or illness (including mental illness).
From July 2025, the Carer’s Allowance income disregard will increase to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple.
To qualify for the payment, your income must be below a certain amount.
If you care for 2 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 half-rate Carer’s Allowance.
Can I get Carer’s Allowance?
You can get Carer’s Allowance if you care full-time for someone who is:
Aged 16 or over, and who is so incapacitated that they need full-time care and attention for at least 12 months, or Aged under 16, and for whom you get Domiciliary Care Allowance.
As well as providing full-time care, you must:
Be aged 18 or over Be habitually resident in Ireland Not be employed, self-employed, doing voluntary work, training, or any education courses for more than 18.5 hours a week Not live in a hospital, convalescent home, or a similar institution Pass a means test
Care-sharing
You can share your caring responsibilities with another carer, where you each care for the person on a part-time basis.
You both must provide care from Monday to Sunday, but on alternate weeks. By law, anyone providing full-time care on a part-time basis must do so for a complete week (Monday to Sunday).
You must meet all the usual qualifying conditions for Carer’s Allowance.
In this case, you and the second carer share:
A single Carer’s Allowance payment, and The annual Carer’s Support Grant.
You each get Free Travel.
You can find out more here.