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Department of Social and Family Affairs - Carers Allowance

Year Concluded: 2007

Complaint Details:

A woman from County Dublin contacted me regarding a decision of the Department of Social and Family Affairs to refuse her a Carers Allowance, on the basis that her means exceeded the statutory limit. While she was providing full time care to a qualified person, her husband was in full time employment and the means from his employment was assessable against her for the purposes of establishing her entitlement to a Carers Allowance. I sought her Carers Allowance file from the Department of Social and Family Affairs and examined the assessment conducted by the Deciding Officer. The means assessment was conducted on the basis of her spouse's payslip. I noted that all disregards from earnings, permitted under Social Welfare legislation, had been allocated to her, but also noted that her spouse was making significant contributions to a pension scheme. Arising from the 2006 budget, changes were introduced to the Carers Allowance means test, in that contributions to Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSA) were disregarded for the purpose of assessing means, with effect from April 2006. It was not clear from the file whether the pension contributions were being made under PRSA. I asked the Department to review its means assessment on the basis that the pension contributions may have been made under a PRSA. Following its review, the Department established that this was in fact the case and revised its means assessment accordingly. This resulted in the award, to the woman, of a Carers Allowance of €147 per week with effect from March 2007 and the payment of arrears in excess of €6,100, backdated to April 2006.

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