Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 November 2022
426. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of domiciliary care allowance applications that are approved on first application, appeal and any subsequent appeal; and the number of these that relate to children with autism. [59194/22]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment in respect of a child aged under 16 with a severe disability who requires ongoing continual or continuous care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months. Eligibility for DCA is determined primarily by reference to the degree of additional care and attention required by the child rather than the child's disability.
Applicants are advised to provide as much detail as possible at application stage to ensure all information is available for the decision and assessment process.
The last complete year for which data on DCA is available is 2021. The following table sets out the details of the applications processed, including the outcomes from the initial application/decision stage during 2021.
|
Year |
Applications received during year |
Applications awarded during year |
Applications disallowed during year |
|
2021 |
9,121 |
5,369 (58.9 %) |
2,468 (27 %) |
The following is the DCA appeal outcome details in respect of year 2021:
|
Year |
Appeal Allowed |
Appeal Partially Allowed |
Appeal Disallowed |
Total |
|
2021 |
533 (59.5%) |
25 (2.7%) |
338 (37.7%) |
896 |
It should be noted that information in relation to a child's specific medical disability or condition such as autism is not collated as children can have multiple diagnoses.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
