Family carers waiting over four months for decision to access vital Carer’s Allowance payment, says Mark Wall TD
Labour’s social protection spokesperson Mark Wall TD has today called out Government, as it has come to light that many family carers are facing waiting times of over four months to hear about their Carer’s Allowance appeal. This hugely delays access to vital payments.
The wait time figures were revealed following a parliamentary question raised by Deputy Wall with Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary and show that in 2024 the average wait time for processing a Carer’s Allowance appeal was 16.9 weeks, over four months. In 2023 the wait time was 16.6 weeks, while in 2022 the wait time was 12.7 weeks. Overall, family carers have seen processing times for their appeal increase by nearly a third since 2022.
Deputy Wall said:
“It is grossly unfair that many family carers are waiting so long to hear back about their appeal for Carer’s Allowance. And we know these figures released are just an average, I’m aware of some family carers waiting well up to a year to hear back, so there are much longer waiting times. For the few family carers that can access the scheme, it can provide a lifeline in terms of getting through the week due to costs associated with providing care to a loved one.
“The Department needs to get a handle on the processing time for appeals; you cannot expect family carers to wait such a long time, particularly when in most cases they have no other source of income. We have seen year on year increases in processing times, Minister Calleary needs to look at increasing resources in the Department to ensure timely and efficient processing times.
“We need a new social contract for care, that values family carers and care workers, reverses the creeping privatisation of social care services, and delivers a new fair deal for older people. We believe in a society that values care and carers, many of whom are women, and invests from cradle to grave, so that people have access to the services they need when they need them.
“There are over 500,000 family carers in Ireland, and their unpaid work saves the State over €20 billion a year. For many carers, they can’t even access the Carer’s Allowance. Labour has proposed long needed policy changes to support family carers such as removing the restrictive means test, and the low rate of payment which is not sufficient to meet the financial needs of those caring for dependents.”