Carers Benefit Form
Carer's Benefit is paid to people who leave work or reduce their hours to care for a person in need of full-time care.
To get Carer's Benefit, you must be at least 16 years old and have enough social insurance (PRSI) contributions (see 'How to qualify for Carer's Benefit' below).
You can get Carer's Benefit for 2 years (104 weeks) for each person that you are caring for.
You can take the 104 weeks all together or any number of separate weeks up to a total of 104 weeks. However, if you claim Carer's Benefit for less than 6 weeks in a row, you must wait another 6 weeks before you can get Carer's Benefit for the same person again.
If you are caring for more than one person, you can get a payment for 104 weeks for each person. If the care periods occur at the same time, you will get an increase in your Carer's Benefit for caring for more than one person (see 'Rate of Carer's Benefit' below).
If you get Carer's Benefit, you can also get a GP visit card.
You may also get a Carer's Support Grant. It is a payment made once a year to carers. It is paid on the first Thursday in June each year.