EntitlementEntitlement
People, parents, carers and guardians of people living with a disability are entitled to some level of assistance from the Irish State. The qualifying rules are different for each entitlement; some are means tested other are not.
Medical/GP Visit Only Card
Your child may be entitled to a standard or a "doctor only" medical card if your family income is below a certain level.
It is possible to get an individual medical card for your child if they have particular medical expenses but the exact basis on which this is decided is not clear. If your child does not qualify for a medical card or a "doctor only" medical card, he/she is nevertheless entitled to the following:
- Free public hospital services; no in-patient or out-patient short-stay charges are levied if your child has one of the specific long-term conditions listed or if referred from child or school health clinics
The HSE's complete guide to Medical and GP visit cards available at:
http://www.hse.ie/portal/eng/Find_a_Service/entitlements/Medical_Cards/.
Domiciliary Care Allowance
The Domiciliary Care Allowance is a non-statutory monthly means-tested payment made to the carer of a child with a severe disability who lives at home. It is usually paid to the parent caring for the child. In order to qualify, your child must have a disability, be aged under 16, live at home and must need substantially more constant care and attention than a child of the same age who does not have a disability.
Applications are accessed by the Dept of Social & Family affairs and require signature from your family doctor.
The allowance is not payable if your child is in full-time residential care but a pro-rata allowance may be paid if your child is in residential care but comes home for weekends and/or holidays. The allowance is payable if the child normally lives at home but is away for up to eight weeks, for example, in hospital.
There is no means test associated with this payment.
You are entitled to Child Benefit in the usual way and you may also be eligible for Carer's Benefit or Carer's Allowance if you meet the other conditions. You are also eligible for a Respite Care grant.
More information can be found obtained from:
Social Welfare Services Office, Dept of Social & Family Affairs, College Road, Sligo. Tel: 071 9157100 Locall: 1890 500 000 or www.welfare.ie
Carers Allowance
Carer's Allowance is a means-tested payment which may be paid if you are caring full time for a person who needs full time care and attention. If your child is under the age of 16, you may qualify for the Carer's Allowance only if you also qualify for the Domiciliary Care Allowance. The means test takes account of the parents' income. Some income is disregarded. If you get a Carer's Allowance, you are no longer considered to be an adult dependant on your spouse's social welfare payment. You may not get a Carer's Allowance and another social welfare payment at the same time.
You should apply to the Social Welfare Office for this allowance.
Carers Benefit
Carer's Benefit may be payable if you give up work in order to provide full time care for a person who needs it. The conditions are similar to those for Carer's Allowance except that it is not means tested and you must have enough PRSI contributions. Carer's Benefit is paid for up to 15 months.
Respite Care Grant
Respite care grant is an automatic annual payment made to carers in receipt of Carers Allowance/Benefit (by the Dept. of Social & Family Affairs) or Domiciliary Care Allowance (by the HSE). (It is doubled if you are caring for more than one child) and is processed every June.
Employment Leave
There are other options available aside from Carers leave, such as Force Majeure, unpaid leave of absence. You can find more information about these at the citizen's information website.
Carers Leave
Employees, after one-year service, may take unpaid leave (up to two years maximum) to provide full-time care for someone who needs it. Application must be made to the Dept. of Social & Family Affairs, for a decision that the person does require full-time care before you entitled to take the leave. The leave may be taken in a block or broken up into shorter periods. PRSI contribution credits are available and Carers Benefit may be payable during leave period.
More information is available on the citizen's information website.
Tax Credits
There are some extra tax credits and allowances which are available to people with disabilities and their carers. Generally the tax legislation uses the term "incapacity" rather than "disability".
Incapacitated Child Tax Credit
There are no tax credits or allowances in respect of children generally but there is a tax credit available to parents or guardians in respect of incapacitated children. You may claim the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit if you have a child who has Down syndrome. If you are claiming this credit for the first time you should write to your local tax office giving the name and date of birth of your child. You should have a doctor's certificate which states your Child has Down syndrome. The credit is given to the parent who is maintaining the child or it may be divided between two parents in proportion to their contribution to the child's maintenance. The child's income, if any, is not taken into account.
You can find more information on the tax revenue website.
Home Carers Tax Credit
A tax credit is available for married couples (taxed jointly) where one spouse works in the home caring for a dependent child (for whom child benefit is being paid), a person over 65 or permanently incapacitated person. The income of the carer must exceed €5,080 and €6,620.
More information is available from the Tax Revenue website.
Employing a carer Allowance
This tax allowance is available where a person is employed to care for a person with a disability. One or more family members of the person being cared for can claim the allowance. There are some rules associated with this allowance, one of which is that you must register as an employer.
The rules and how to claim for the allowance are explained on the tax revenue website.