Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 July 2021
442. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of refusals for domiciliary care allowance for children with autistic spectrum disorder in each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by county. [37335/21]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance is a payment in recognition of the substantial additional care needs of children with a disability as evidenced in the application and supporting documentation. Decisions to award or refuse claims are not based on the diagnosis alone, but on the extent and complexity of the care needs of the child. Each application is assessed by a deciding officer on its merits having had the benefit of the opinion of by one of the Department's Medical Assessors.
While statistics on overall awards and refusals are available, information on awards or refusals in relation to particular medical conditions is not routinely collated. It should also be noted that children can have multiple diagnoses.
The scheme is administered centrally for the whole country and medical and other information is not collated on a county basis.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
