125,000 Carers to receive support grant today

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Over 5,000 carers in Tipperary are to receive an annual grant in recognition of their role.

Minister Heather Humphreys has this morning announced that nationally 125,000 Carers and their families will get €1,850.

It is available to all carers providing full-time care to an older person or a person with a disability, without any means testing.

Almost 14,000 of those carers look after two or more people and will receive a grant in respect of each person they are caring for.

Tipperary has the 5th highest number of carers eligible at 5,433, behind Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway.
How to Qualify for Carer’s Support Grant

You automatically qualify for the Carer’s Support Grant if you get Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA).

If you are not getting any of these payments, you may still qualify if you meet these conditions if:
” you are 16 or over
” you ordinarily reside in the Irish State
” you care for the person full time
” you have been caring for the person for a continuous period of at least six months, and this period includes the first Thursday in June
” you live with the person you are caring for or you are contactable quickly by a direct system of communication such as a telephone or an alarm
You do not qualify for Carer’s Support Grant if you are:

” working, self-employed, or on a training or education course for more than 18.5 hours a week. (Note: you must show us that the person you are caring for has adequate care while you are working, on an education course, or both)
” getting Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit
” signing on for credited contributions
” living in a hospital, convalescent home or similar institution

If you are caring for more than one person, you will get a grant for each person cared for.

The Carer’s Support Grant is exempt from income tax, PRSI and USC.