Taoiseach Simon Harris will meet "directly" with representatives from Family Carers Ireland later this month - along with the relevant ministers - to discuss their "very useful report."
More than 72% of family carers say they have never received respite, according to a new survey by the charity which supports over 500,000 family carers across the country.
Mr Harris told the Dáil that the government needs "to do better and more", but it should be noted that funding for respite care has doubled since 2018 and Minister of State Anne Rabbitte will shortly publish a new Respite Funding Plan on how an additional €15 million allocation will be spent.
The Taoiseach said he recognised that some carers find the means test "too mean" and so changes will be made "this week" to the "income disregard" qualification in order to ensure more carers can benefit.
Mr Harris said he acknowledged that the Coalition is "not doing enough", but he said it also needed to be recognised that the number of respite care nights have increased from 87,000 to 151,000.
He was replying to Social Democrats Leader Holly Cairns who described the latest report from Family Carers Ireland as "shocking but not a surprise", particularly the statistic that two thirds of carers have never received any respite assistance.
She described the document as highlighting a "litany of failure" when it came to the provision of state supports and it proved that while the government continually promises to help carers - that does not correspond with the reality of their lives.
The Cork South West TD said carers are finding supports are harder to qualify for and often are simply non-existent for many people.
Ms Cairns said the contents of the FCI report were "shameful" and the government needed to act urgently as carers are so worn-out that they don't have the energy to fight anymore.
The Taoiseach also said that he will "give consideration" to increasing the number of hours that carers can work while claiming the Carers' Allowance.
The matter will be considered in drawing up Budget 2025, he said.
He was responding to Independent TD Sean Canney who said that he is aware of some carers "who are participating in schemes where they have to work 19-and-a-half hours".
This is more than the 18 hours allowed when claiming the Carers' Allowance, he added, and asked for that threshold to be increased.
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Family Carers Ireland's latest survey - the first since 2022 - asked over 2,000 carers about the challenges they are facing.
Three quarters of respondents reported severe or moderate loneliness - and the same number also said the people they care for do not receive enough support.
Family Carers Ireland said that 69% of those surveyed said they found it difficult to make ends meet, while 72% have never received respite and 74% said the people they care for do not get sufficient formal support.
The survey also found that 49% of carers said they have paid privately for products or services that should be publicly provided, while 34% said their accommodation is not suitable to meet the needs of the person they care for.
Catherine Cox, Head of Communications and Policy at Family Carers Ireland, said the survey "reveals a harrowing truth - family carers are being pushed to the brink."
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Cox said: "Respite is crucial to recharge the batteries, to maintain the health, the physical and mental health of family carers, yet so many are not getting access and the problem is respite is so inconsistent and fragmented.
"It's available in one county, one town and not in the next. So, we have a complete, what we call a post code lottery of respite, services in this country for family carers."
Ms Cox said family carers "have no right, no legal entitlement to respite".
"So, one of the things we have called for is that at a minimum, a family carer should have a right to 20 days respite every year," she said.
Ms Cox added that there are huge costs involved with caring for a child, an adult or an older person in the home.
"None of those costs are taken into account when they look at means testing," she said.
"So, that's one of the things we've called for, that at least it looks at outgoings as well, rather than the gross salary of somebody.
"But realistically, we need to see the means test abolished. It needs to go to anybody providing full-time care for a loved one."
In a statement, Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Anne Rabbitte said €15 million had been allocated to expand respite provision for carers so far this year
She said her department planned to publish a respite investment plan in the coming weeks.
Additional reporting by Paul Cunningham
