Increase in thresholds to qualify for the Carer’s Allowance welcomed

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Over 6,000 people in Tipperary will receive the Carer’s Support Grant today.

The grant of €1,850 is paid on the first Thursday in June each year.

It’s given to all family carers providing full-time care to an older person or a person with a disability, regardless of their means or social insurance contributions.

Local Family Carers Ireland manager Richie Molloy says the much needed funding helps towards the many hidden costs of caring.

“Traditionally the idea of that grant was that the Carer themselves could actually take a break or a holiday with that money.

“But I can honestly say over the last couple of years in particular people are really waiting for that money to come to pay something like a fill of oil for the heating or they might be using it to pay for therapies and things like that which they cannot access through the HSE.

“So by and large that money really doesn’t do what it was intended to do in the first place.

Richie Molloy has welcomed the increase in the thresholds to qualify for the Carer’s Allowance.

The weekly threshold for a single person has risen to €350 a week, while couples can now earn up to €750 a week.

Richie is urging carers in Tipperary who have not qualified in the past to reapply for the allowance.
“They’ve increased the disregard from the 1st of June that you can have €50,000 for a couple in saving and €25,000 in savings for a single person.

“So that will definitely bring more carers into the net to get the weekly Carers Allowance. So what I would say to carers that would be listening to Tipp FM this morning is to contact us and we can go through their figures. And if they have been turned down for the Carers Allowance in the past there is a chance now that they might qualify under the revised guidelines.”

The local Family Carers Ireland branch can be contacted on (052) 744 7102 or [email protected]