Social welfare payments are set to be doubled for families of children who have been hospitalised due to severe illness.
The new relief is to be announced by Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys on Monday.
The period for the payment to families in receipt of a Domiciliary Care Allowance and Carer's Allowance is to be extended from 13 weeks to 26 weeks.
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The payment will be made to parents or guardians whose children, aged under 16, have been hospitalised for up to six months.
Ms Humphreys said: "When a child is hospitalised, it can be an extremely difficult time for both that child and their family."
She added: "Up to now, these supports had been paid over a period of 13 weeks when a child was in hospital. I'm therefore pleased to double the period of time to 26 weeks in circumstances where a child is hospitalised on a full-time basis.
"I hope this will give many families greater financial security and peace of mind when they are enduring such difficult experiences."
The Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability who requires ongoing care and attention. It is not means-tested and is paid at a rate of €309.50 per month for each eligible child.
Carer's Allowance, meanwhile, is a weekly social welfare payment to people who are caring for a person who needs support because of their age, disability or illness (including mental illness).
Your income must be below a certain amount to get Carer's Allowance - see 'How your income is assessed for Carer's Allowance' below.
If you are caring for two or more people, your rate of Carer's Allowance is increased by 50% (maximum) each week. If you are getting another social welfare payment, you may get half-rate Carer's Allowance.
The income disregard for Carer's Allowance will increase from €332.50 to €350 for a single person and from €665 to €750 for a couple. The capital disregard will increase by €30,000 from €20,000 to €50,000 (June 2022).
The news comes as hospital inpatient fees for under-16s are set to be abolished as part of plans due to be approved by the Cabinet this week.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will bring a memo to the Cabinet on Tuesday outlining plans to abolish the €80 inpatient and day-case charge for children, which is capped at €800 per year.
The fees are expected to be scrapped in August.
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