Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
742. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if a domiciliary care allowance application in the name of a person (details supplied) will be re-examined and approved as a matter of urgency; and if an oral hearing will be arranged if necessary. [48103/23]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.
This level of care and attention must be required to allow the child deal with the activities of daily living, in areas such as mobility, personal care, feeding / diet, communication, speech / language, sleeping, behaviour, safety, sensory issues, and any other additional needs. However, eligibility for DCA is not based entirely on the child's disability / diagnosis but rather on the impact of the disability, in terms of the associated level of care and attention required by the child compared to a child of the same age without their disability.
To qualify for DCA, it must be established that the level of care and attention required by the relevant child is substantially in excess of that normally required by children of a similar age without their disability and likely to be required for at least 12 consecutive months, as provided for in the governing legislation.
An application for DCA in respect of their child was received from the person concerned on 23 March 2022. A Deciding Officer disallowed their claim as per decision dated 1 June 2022. Based on the information provided, the child concerned was not considered to satisfy the conditions for DCA. This determination also considered the supporting medical evidence that was provided by the person concerned in their application.
The Deciding Officer had regard to the professional opinion of a departmental Medical Assessor in the decision process.
The applicant requested a review of the above decision and also appealed the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
The SWAO functions independently of my Department and Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions.
Following a review of their application in respect of the child concerned, including all information and evidence available at the time of the original decision and all further additional information and documentary evidence provided in support of their review request and appeal, a Deciding Officer decided not to revise the original decision as per further decision dated 19 August 2022.
Further to their appeal to the independent SWAO, an Appeals Officer decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned via a summary decision, as per appeal decision dated 10 October 2022.
An Appeals Officer's decision is generally final and conclusive.
However, an Appeals Officer's decision may be subject to review by an Appeals Officer under Section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, where new facts or evidence is brought to notice since the appeal decision was made.
The person concerned requested a review of the appeals officer decision under Section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act and provided further new additional information in their review request, for re-consideration by the Appeals Officer.
Following a re-examination of their case, under Section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, including the further additional information provided by the person concerned in support of their review request, the Appeals Officer decided not to revise the appeal decision on the grounds that there was no additional information presented to render the original appeal decision erroneous, as per further appeal decision dated 12 September 2023.
In relation to an applicant's request for an oral hearing in the appeal process, where an Appeals Officer is of the opinion that an appeal case can be determined on the basis of the information and documentary evidence provided, the Appeals Officer may determine the appeal on a summary basis.
As per the appeal file in this case, the designated Appeals Officer did consider the applicant's request(s) for an oral hearing in the appeal process, as referenced in the above appeal decision(s). However, the Appeals Officer decided that their case is of such a nature that the appeal could be determined summarily, without an oral hearing, as the person concerned had provided substantial information relating to the care provided to the relevant child, including substantial medical evidence relating to their child's diagnosis.
On foot of your request for a further review of eligibility for DCA in this case, a review of the applicant's application and my Department's original decision of 1 June 2022 will be now undertaken by a Deciding Officer. This review will include all information and documentary evidence that was provided by the person concerned in relation to their application of 23 March 2022.
Once the review is completed, the person concerned will be notified directly in writing of the review outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
