Operational Guidelines: Carer's Support Grant

The Carer’s Support Grant (formerly called the Respite Care Grant) is an annual payment for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention.

Carers, in receipt of, or entitled to receive, Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance on the 1st Thursday in June are paid the Grant automatically on that date.

A carer, not in receipt of one of these payments may still qualify for the ‘standalone’ Carer’s Support Grant.

Initial application for this payment is made by completing an application form CSG1.

The ‘standalone’ Carer’s Support Grant scheme is administered by:

The Carer’s Support Grant is €1,850 (2020: €1,700) per person being cared for.

Method of Payment

Payment is usually made by direct lodgement to an account in a financial institution. This account must be a current or deposit savings account, not a mortgage account. A carer may also receive payment at a Post Office, but must have a Social Welfare or Public Services Card to do so.

A carer who receives Carers Allowance or Carers Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance, will usually receive the Grant by the same payment method.

Carer must:

• be aged 16 or over
• be ordinarily resident in the State
• care for the person on a full-time basis
• care for the person for at least six months. This period of care must include the first Thursday in June
• live with the person they are looking after or can be contacted quickly by a direct system of communication (for example, a telephone or alarm) between their home and the home of the person they are caring for
• not be employed or self employed for more than 18.5 hours per week
• not be attending a training or educational course for more than 18.5 hours per week,
• not be in receipt of Jobseeker's Benefit or Allowance or be signing for credited contributions
• not be living in a hospital, convalescent home or other similar institution
• be fit to care.

'carer' means a person ordinarily resident in the State who has attained the age of 16 years and who-

• is in receipt of or entitled to Carers Allowance or Carers Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance or
• is providing full-time care and attention to a person who is in receipt of an increase of disablement pension in respect of the need for constant attendance, or
• resides with or has provided, is providing or is likely to provide full-time care and attention for such periods and on such date as may be prescribed to a relevant person, or
• subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, does not reside with but has provided, is providing or is likely to provide full-time care and attention for such periods and on such a date as may be prescribed to a relevant person

Definition of person being cared for (relevant person)

'relevant person' means a person who is ordinarily resident in the State and is so incapacitated that he or she requires full-time care and attention.

A relevant person shall not be regarded as requiring full time care and attention unless-

• the person is so incapacitated that he or she requires from another person-

(i) continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions, or

(ii) continual supervision in order to avoid danger to himself or herself

The Minister may make regulations specifying the circumstances and conditions under which a person is to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person.

'Institution' means a hospital, convalescent home or home for people suffering from physical or mental disability or ancillary accommodation, nursing home for the care and maintenance of dependent elderly people or any other similar establishment providing residence, maintenance care

Carer and person being cared for live in separate homes

The following guidelines will apply when eligibility for Carer’s Support Grant is being considered for a carer who does not live with the person being cared for.

• The carer must be providing full-time care and attention.
• The carer's personal circumstances must be suitable to allow him/her to provide full time care and attention.
• Non-resident care situations may require investigation by a Social Welfare Inspector before consideration by the Deciding Officer.
• A direct system of communication must exist between the carer's residence and that of the care recipient. This may be a telephone or alarm-type system.
• The care recipient must not already be receiving full-time care and attention within his or her own residence from another person.
• Only one Carer’s Support Grant will be payable in respect of any one caring situation.

Circumstances where a carer may continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention

A carer may be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person where:

The carer is undergoing medical or other treatment of a temporary nature in an institution for a period or periods amounting to not more than 13 weeks or where the relevant person:

• is undergoing temporary medical or other treatment of a temporary nature in an institution or
• is attending a non-residential course of rehabilitation training provided by an organization (being an organization recognized by the Minister for Health and Children for the purposes of the provision of such training) or
• is attending a non-residential place of day care approved by the Minister for Health and Children or
• is temporarily being cared for, or temporarily residing with, another person, for a period or periods amounting to not more than 13 weeks.

A Carer may also continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention for a period not longer than 18 months in circumstances where a child born on or after 1st January 2023 (otherwise eligible for Domiciliary Care Allowance) remains in hospital immediately after birth or, is transferred to another hospital for medical or other treatment. A carer may also continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention for a period not longer than 26 weeks in a twelve-month period in circumstances where a child (otherwise eligible for Domiciliary Care Allowance) is admitted to an institution on a full-time basis for the purpose of receiving medical or other treatment of a temporary nature.

The Minister may make regulations specifying the circumstances and conditions under which a person is to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person.

Employment/Education/Training (Carer)

The carer may attend an educational or training course or take up voluntary or community work for up to 18.5 hours per week. Alternatively, the carer may be employed or self-employed for up to 18.5 hours per week.

Note: The aggregate of such employment or self-employment or course of training/education cannot exceed 18.5 hours per week.

Adequate care must be arranged by the carer for the person being cared for during any absence for work or training.

Jobseeker's Allowance/Benefit/Credits (Carer)

The carer will not qualify for Carer’s Support Grant if he or she is entitled to or receiving Jobseeker's Allowance or Benefit, or is signing for credited contributions.

Education/Training (Person being cared for)

The person being cared for may attend a non-residential course of rehabilitation training or non-residential day care centre approved by the Minister for Health and Children.

Permanently resident in an institution (Person being cared for)

The carer will not qualify for Carer’s Support Grant if the person being cared for is permanently resident in an institution.

The due date of the Carer’s Support Grant is the 1st Thursday in June. The earliest date for receipt of claims for a given year is 8 weeks before the due date (i.e. a date in early-April) and the latest date is the 31st December of the following year.

The carer should complete a Carer’s Support Grant application form CSG 1 in respect of each person being cared for.

The application form is divided into 5 parts.

• Part 1 deals with the carer's details and contains a certification of hours worked to be completed by an employer where the carer is employed outside the home.
• Part 2 deals with he carer's payment details (see 'Method of Payment' above).
• Part 3 deals with the details of the person being cared for.
• Part 4 is a checklist for the carer to refer to before submitting an application.
• Part 5 deals with the medical certification for the person being cared for. Section A is the authorisation by the person being cared for, allowing their doctor to give medical details to the department. This authorisation must be signed by or on behalf of the person being cared for. Section B is the medical report and must be completed by the doctor of the person being cared for.

Claims are decided by Deciding Officers appointed by the Minister under Section 299 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005. They are independent in the exercise of their function in deciding on entitlement to Carer’s Support Grant.

See separate guideline on Decision-Making.

• The Deciding Officer will consider the application in its entirety, including any advice provided by a medical assessor and make a decision on whether the carer qualifies for Carer’s Support Grant.
• Where the details furnished are not to the satisfaction of the Deciding Officer e.g. details of full- time care or employment are not satisfactorily evidenced, further enquiries are made. This usually takes the form of correspondence with the claimant or of referral of the claim form, and any supporting documentation, to a Social Welfare Inspector for the area where the claimant lives. A report is completed by the Social Welfare Inspector, usually following an interview with the claimant and this is forwarded to the Deciding Officer. The Deciding Officer will then make a decision on entitlement, provided all the relevant details are now available.

See guidelines for SW Inspectors for further details

• A written notification of the decision is sent to the carer in all cases.
• Where the application is allowed, the carer is advised of the amount to be paid and how this payment will be made.
• Where the application is disallowed, the claimant is told the reason for the disallowance and given the right to have the decision reviewed and/or to appeal the decision directly to the *Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
• Any decision of a Deciding Officer may be subsequently revised by a Deciding Officer in the light of new information or evidence. This could arise where new information is made available as part of an appeal by the claimant. In such circumstances, a Deciding Officer may revise a decision on entitlement, if it is to the advantage of the claimant. There is also a right of appeal against a revised decision.

See separate guideline on Revised Decisions

If the carer does not agree with the decision on their application, they may appeal against it. The appeal should be made by writing to the Chief Appeals Officer, D'Olier House, D’Olier St, Dublin 2, within 21 days of notification of the Deciding Officer's decision, stating the grounds of appeal.

When notified of such an appeal the Deciding Officer prepares a statement on the facts relied on in the making of the decision and on the extent to which the facts and contentions advanced by the appellant are admitted or disputed. This statement is sent with the file to the Appeals Office.

Where new information is made available as part of an appeal by the claimant, a Deciding Officer may revise a decision on entitlement, if it is to the advantage of the claimant. A person may be interviewed by a Social Welfare Inspector regarding any facts or evidence put forward in support of an appeal, where the facts/evidence conflict with previous statements made by the claimant. The notification of the revised decision will request the claimant to advise whether s/he is satisfied with the revised decision or wishes to pursue the appeal.

The Homemakers Scheme was introduced on 6th April 1994. A Homemaker for the purposes of the Homemakers Scheme is a customer who gave up work to take care of a child under age 12 or an incapacitated child/adult age 12 or over.

A homemaking year is a year in which you are out of the workforce for the full tax year (only a full year can be disregarded). Up to a maximum of 20 homemaking years can be disregarded for State Pension (Contributory) purposes.

Homemaker’s credits can be awarded for part of a year at the start of the homemaking period, from the date you become a homemaker up to the end of the tax year. Likewise, homemaker’s credits can also be awarded for part of a year when the homemaking period ends, from the start of the tax year up to the date you stop homemaking.

(See separate guideline Homemakers for full details.)

The main legislative provisions relating to Carer’s Support Grant are contained in Sections 224 to 226 of Part 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended.

Up to June 2005, the Carer’s Support Grant was payable only to persons who were in receipt of either Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit payments on the date that the Grant was payable (the first Thursday of June). The Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 amended the 1993 Act by, amongst other things, extending entitlement to the grant, subject to certain employment-related conditions, to all persons giving full-time care and attention to a person or persons requiring such care.

The legislation also confers power on the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to make regulations providing for the conditions and procedural requirements for entitlement to the Grant.

Articles 162 to 171 of Part 5 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 142 of 2007), as amended, provides for such matters as the:

• date that the Grant is payable;
• period for which the carer must provide full-time care and attention to the care recipient;
• circumstances in which a carer is to be regarded as continuing to provide full-time care and attention;
• conditions to be satisfied by carer who is not residing with the care recipient;
• conditions under which a person may engage in employment or self-employment but continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention; and
• the time limit for application.