Older people and carers

Carer's Allowance

A weekly payment of up to €270 for people who care full time for someone who needs it. Since 2 July 2026 the means test ignores the first €1,000 a week of a single carer's income, or €2,000 for a couple, so a household with a wage coming in may still qualify.

Checked against the official pages on 19 September 2026.

What it is

Carer's Allowance is a weekly payment for people on a low income who look after someone full time because of age, disability or illness, including mental illness.

It is means tested. Since 2 July 2026 the first €1,000 a week of a single carer's income is ignored, or €2,000 for a couple.

If you already get a State Pension or another qualifying payment, you can keep it and get half rate Carer's Allowance on top.

What it is worth

Half rate, paid on top of another payment: €135 a week under 66, €154 at 66 or over (€202.50 and €231 if you care for 2 or more people).

It also brings a €2,000 Carer's Support Grant every June, a GP visit card and Free Travel.

Who can get it

You, the carer, must:

• Be aged 18 or over
• Be habitually resident in Ireland
• Pass a means test
• Give full time care of at least 35 hours a week, over 5 to 7 days
• Not work, be self employed, volunteer, train or study for more than 18.5 hours a week in total. The person you care for must have proper care while you are out.
• Not live in a hospital, convalescent home or similar institution

The person you care for must be either:

• Aged 16 or over and so incapacitated that they need full time care and attention for at least 12 months, or
• Under 16 and getting Domiciliary Care Allowance

Full time care and attention means they need continual supervision to avoid danger to themselves, or continual supervision and help through the day with things like eating, drinking, washing and dressing. They can go to a day care centre or non residential rehabilitation training and still count.

The means test looks at your income and your spouse's, civil partner's or cohabitant's income. Part of it is ignored:

Before July 2026 these figures were €625 and €1,250. Employee PRSI, pension contributions, union dues and some other items come off your gross pay first. For a couple, whatever is left is halved.

Savings, investments and property other than your own home are also counted:

For a couple, the combined capital is halved first and the €50,000 is ignored from each half.

Child maintenance has not been counted since 6 June 2024. Up to €269.23 a week from renting a room in your own home can be ignored, but not short lets or lets to an immediate family member.

Full rate is paid if your weekly means come to €7.60 or less. Above that, your personal rate drops by €2.50 for each €2.50 of means.

A good household wage does not rule you out. In a Citizens Information example, a couple earning €2,050 a week with €145,000 in savings end up with weekly means of just €63.

Carer's Allowance and your State Pension

If you already get a State Pension (Contributory), Invalidity Pension, Illness Benefit, Bereaved Partner's (Contributory) Pension or another qualifying payment, you can keep it and get half rate Carer's Allowance on top: €135 a week under 66, or €154 at 66 or over.

Half rate cannot be paid with Jobseeker's Allowance or Benefit, the Benefit for people who retire at 65, Working Family Payment, Carer's Benefit, basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Back to Education or Jobseeker's Transitional Payment.

If you put off claiming your State Pension (Contributory) past 66, you can stay on Carer's Allowance. When you do claim the pension, you move to half rate Carer's Allowance if you still qualify.

No Child Support Payment is paid with half rate Carer's Allowance. Half rate is ignored in the Fuel Allowance means test.

Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit: which one?

They are two different payments and you cannot get both at the same time.

Carer's Benefit suits someone leaving a job, or cutting their hours, to care. You need at least 156 paid PRSI contributions plus recent ones, and you should apply at least 6 weeks before you finish work. Carer's Allowance suits someone whose household income is low enough to pass the means test, or who has used up the 104 weeks of Carer's Benefit.

If you are an employee you can also take unpaid Carer's Leave, with your job kept for you, even if you get neither payment.

The €2,000 lump sum and the respite grant

The yearly lump sum is the Carer's Support Grant. It used to be called the Respite Care Grant. It is €2,000 for each person you care for, paid automatically in June to everyone on Carer's Allowance, full or half rate. The 2026 grant was paid on Thursday 4 June 2026.

You can spend it on respite, but you do not have to. Carers who get no carer's payment may still qualify. See thegranthub.ie/grants-ireland/carers-support-grant/

When the payment keeps going

• Up to 13 weeks if you or the person you care for is in hospital.
• 12 weeks after the person moves into a nursing home full time. Send the Department a letter from the nursing home giving the admission date.
• 12 weeks after the person you care for dies.
• 6 weeks to your spouse or civil partner after your death, if they already get their own social welfare payment.
• Up to 3 weeks' holidays in each calendar year, as long as you arrange full time care while you are away.

Two carers can share the caring on alternate weeks. Each fills in a CR1, and the payment and the Carer's Support Grant are split between them.

Making the home safe for the person you care for

If the person you care for is struggling with the stairs, the shower or the front step, their local council may help with the cost of a stairlift, level access shower or ramp through the Housing Adaptation Grant. See thegranthub.ie/grants/

What you’ll need

• A verified MyGovID account if you apply online. You need a Public Services Card, a verified mobile number and an email address.
• Or paper form CR1 if you apply by post. Fill in one CR1 for each person you care for.
• Form CARMed1, the medical report filled in by the doctor of the person you care for. Not needed if you care for a child getting Domiciliary Care Allowance.
• Form CA-ER1, the employer declaration, for each job you have now. Not needed if you are not working.
• Form CAR-ED1 if you are in training or education.
• Your address, relationship status, and the PPS numbers of your partner and any dependent children.
• Details of any countries you lived in over the last 5 years, and whether you need an Irish Residence Permit.
• Details of the person you care for: where they live, who they live with and the care they need.
• Details of all income, savings and investments for you and your partner.

How to apply

1. Check the conditions above, especially the 35 hours of care and the 18.5 hour limit on work and study.
2. Get form CARMed1 from gov.ie or your local Intreo Centre and ask the doctor of the person you care for to fill it in. Also download form CA-ER1 for each job you have, and CAR-ED1 if you are studying.
3. Apply online on MyWelfare.ie with your verified MyGovID account. Go to Caring For Others, then Carer's Allowance, then Apply now.
4. Upload the CARMed1, CA-ER1 and CAR-ED1 with your application. That is the quickest way to a decision. If you do not have them yet, upload them within 21 days through Manage My Claim on your MyWelfare dashboard, or post them.
5. Or apply by post. Print form CR1 from gov.ie, or get it at an Intreo Centre, Social Welfare Branch Office, post office or Citizens Information Centre. Send it with the supporting forms to: Carer's Allowance Section, Social Welfare Services Office, Government Buildings, Ballinalee Road, Longford, Co. Longford, N39 E4E0.
6. Wait for the written decision. If you are short of money while you wait, ask your Intreo Centre about Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

Key dates and how long it takes

• There is no deadline. You can apply at any time.
• The supporting forms are due within 21 days of an online application. Without the CARMed1 the claim cannot be assessed and will be refused.
• Payment starts from the Thursday your claim is received, or the next Thursday if it arrives on another day. It is paid weekly in advance.
• It is not normally backdated before the date you claim. It can be backdated up to 6 months if you show good cause for the delay. Not knowing about the payment is not good cause on its own. Longer backdating is only possible if Department staff gave you wrong information or you were too ill to claim.
• The Department does not publish a processing time. Citizens Information says it can take some time.

Who to contact

If you are turned down

• Ask for a review. A different Deciding Officer looks at the decision again, along with any new evidence you send.
• Appeal to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office within 60 days of the decision. Write to the Chief Appeals Officer, Social Welfare Appeals Office, D'Olier House, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, and say why you think the decision is wrong. MyWelfare also has a Make an appeal service.
• If you were refused only because the CARMed1 never arrived, you have to make a new application.

Things people miss

• Do not rule yourself out because the household has a wage coming in. The first €1,000 a week of a single carer's income, or €2,000 for a couple, is now ignored.
• Caring for two people, for example both parents, raises the rate by up to 50%. Fill in a separate CR1 for each person.
• You get the €2,000 Carer's Support Grant every June without applying, even on half rate.
• If you live with the person you care for, you may also get the Household Benefits Package. You may get Fuel Allowance too if you pass its means test.
• If you are 80 or over, an extra €10 a week is added to your Carer's Allowance automatically.
• You may get PRSI credits while you are on Carer's Allowance, which can help towards your own State Pension later.
• Carer's Allowance is taxable, but you may pay no tax if it is your only income. Since 1 January 2026 the Department reports it to Revenue.
• If you live with a spouse or partner, the Child Support Payment is paid at half rate: €29 for a child under 12 and €39 for a child aged 12 or over. It is €58 and €78 if you are parenting alone.
• There is no extra payment for a qualified adult on Carer's Allowance.

Common questions