Respite Care Grant

An annual respite care grant of €1000, increasing to €1200 from June 2006, is paid by the Department of Social and Family Affairs in June each year to all carers in receipt of Care's Allowance, Carer's Benefit, Constant Attendance Allowance or Prescribed Relative's Allowance. The grant has been extended to all carers who are providing full-time care to an older person or person with a disability regardless of the carers' means. A grant is now paid for each person being cared for.

To avail of this, a carer must not be working outside the home for more than 10 hours per week (increasing to 15 hours from June 2006) or getting an unemployment payment.

Note: If the person you are caring for dies, Carer's Allowance/Benefit continues to be paid for six weeks after the death. A bereavement grant may also be payable if the PRSI conditions are met. You should notify the relevant section of the Dept Social and Family Affairs about the death as soon as possible.