Q. My father-in-law is very unwell and has come to live with us so I can care for him. I understand I might be able to apply for Carer’s Alowance. Can you give me some information about this please.
The Carer’s Allowance is a payment for people on low incomes caring for a person who needs full-time care and attention because of age, disability, or illness (including mental illness).
To qualify for the Carer’s Allowance you must meet criteria in three areas.
Firstly, the person must require full-time care. Secondly, that you are providing that care for a minimum of 35 hours over a five to seven-day period, and lastly that you are not working or studying for more than 18.5 hours a week and meet the means test requirements. What do these three criteria mean?
Full time care: A person is regarded as requiring full-time care and attention when they are so incapacitated as to need continual supervision to avoid danger to themselves or they need continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions and they are likely to require full-time care and attention for at least 12 months.
Care provision: You continuously supervise the person, so they don’t put themselves in danger, or you continuously supervise and assist the person throughout the day with personal care (for example, helping them to eat, drink, get washed and dressed).
Means test: To get your total weekly means, the DSP adds your sources of assessable income (such as cash and capital) together.
Thresholds: Currently, if you are single, €625 of your total weekly income is not taken into account in the means test for Carer’s Allowance and you are allowed €50,000 in savings. If you are married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting, the first €1,250 of your combined total weekly income is not taken into account and you can have joint savings of €100,000. For a couple, your means are taken to be half of the total means of yourself and your spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant.
The DSP will calculate your weekly means. If your weekly means are higher than the threshold, you will get a reduced rate of Carer’s Allowance. From July of 2026 the thresholds will be increased to €1,000 per week for a single person and €2,000 per week for a couple.