Homemaker's Scheme

holly8

Scenario ... really need help! sorry it is so long but please bear with me ...

Year 2000/2001 ... Father and Mother both working full time, Mother and Father both paying full PRSI.

Mother made redundant mid-2002. 2nd Child born early 2003. Mother stayed home as full time parent from 2002 - 2005 until returning to full time, full PRSI work when Child was almost 3.

About 2003, Father made redundant and started working as lone contractor so didn't pay full PRSI class required for SW benefits from that point forward.

Then child diagnosed with ASD a few months later, still in 2005 (aged 3).

Approx. 2006, Father company folded and now Father is now unemployed. So Father switched roles and now he stayed at home as the full time Parent.

But Father never applied for any Social Welfare payment at the time he became unemployed as he did not have the correct class of PRSI paid. Nor did he sign for PRSI credits, etc.

Also, Mother & Father did not think they would be entitled to Carers Allowance for Father (incorrect class of PRSI paid) or Carers Benefit (means tested and thinking Mother's take home pay was above the limit).

So Mother is in receipt of Child Benefit/Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA)/Respite Grant for that Child ... only because she filled in all the forms and Father did not! All are in Mother's name and collected by Mother at post office, i.e. not paid into an account (or would get lost in all the household bills)

So all these years, Father has stayed at home as full time parent until now .. and still is. As Child (now 15) still requires that support of parent at home.

After lots of nagging, Father has finally contacted social welfare to try and regularise his PRSI credits .... he can apply for Carers Benefit which will probably be refused due to means testing.

His only option is to apply for for Homemaker's Scheme - A homemaker, for the purposes of the Homemaker’s Scheme (which was introduced from 6 April 1994), is a man or woman who provides full-time care for a child under age 12 or an ill or disabled person aged 12 or over.

But how does he prove this? that he has been the Stay-At-Home Parent since 2006 until now, 12 years later?

He has been told that he needs to transfer the DCA payment into his name? and Child Benefit too? And to prove that there is a Child with a disability (no problem there as we have all the reports).

So that he can demonstrate that he has been the stay-at-home parent all these years of which there is no record for him in the system?

Is this correct? any advice? TIA

splinter65

Homemakers is only applied to the parent who is in receipt of the Child Benefit.
Carers Benefit is not means tested Carers Allowance is but your dad hasn’t got the PRSI now for Benefit.
The means test for Carers Allowance is very generous and he definitely would have got something unless your mother is on a very big wage. €665 income per week would mean he could still get all of the CA.
There’s nothing can be done now about the PRSI, 12 years later it won’t be entertained.
He doesn’t need to be in receipt of the DCA or CB in order to get CA.
He should apply for Carers Allowance right away but he won’t be getting a PRSI Credit with that.
Also the DCA will stop for the 15 year old on his/her 16th birthday and he/she can apply for Disability Allowance.

TheBeach

In the case of the father, who was not at work, nor in receipt of child benefit, he should complete the hm1 application form from the welfare website. He could put all applicable dates on that and apply retrospectively. The mother is covered automatically as she was in receipt of child benefit.