Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
33. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection whether she is aware of the substantial discrepancies that exist between initial applications for domiciliary care and the level of success of appeals with regard to same; and what she intends to do to address this. [18473/24]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly allowance payable 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, where the level of the child’s disability is such that the child is likely to require that level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive months. This level of care and attention must be required to enable the child deal with the activities of daily living.Eligibility for DCA is not based entirely on the child’s disability or diagnosis, but primarily and essentially on the impact of the child’s disability, in terms of the associated level of additional care and attention required by the relevant child compared to a child of a similar age, who does not have such a disability/diagnosis. The decision and assessment process that applies in the consideration of whether a child meets the conditions for receipt of DCA, includes the examination of all relevant factors identified as impacting on the child’s care needs. In relation to the DCA decision and assessment process, all applications for DCA are referred for the opinion of a departmental Medical Assessor (MA). The MA considers the severity of the child’s condition, the expected duration, the child’s associated care needs and provides their professional opinion in relation to the child’s eligibility for DCA. This assessment is based on the information provided by the applicant in the completed application form, the details from the applicant’s GP/specialist entered on the form, and any supporting documentary evidence provided by the applicant in the application process, such as a medical professional/ specialist report(s) or diagnostic assessment report(s).Consideration of the MA opinion is an integral part of the decision process of a Deciding officer, including any review decision(s). In addition to the medical criteria, other conditions must also be satisfied to qualify for the allowance.In some cases, more that one decision may be made on an application, where an applicant subsequently provides further information/documentary evidence for consideration and/or seeks a review of a decision, that is, an application can be disallowed initially and then subsequently allowed on review(s) by the Department, following receipt of further new or additional information/evidence that is relevant.Between 2023 and the end of March 2024 Domiciliary Care Allowance Section received 15,311 applications. Within the same period 10,403 Domiciliary Care Allowance applications were allowed, and 5,252 were disallowed.The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. Between 2023 and the end of March 2024, 2,722 Domiciliary Care Allowance appeals were received of which 1,033 were allowed, 61 were partially allowed, and 930 were disallowed.Between 2023 and the end of March 2024 Domiciliary Care Allowance Section allowed 487 applications on review. In many cases this was because additional information was provided at the time of appeal that was not available to the original deciding officer. As part of the appeals process, all DCA appeal cases are further reviewed and re-examined by the Department, including all information/evidence available at the time of the original decision, and any further decision(s) if applicable, including any additional information and/or documentary evidence provided in support of the appeal and if warranted, a revised decision is made by a Deciding Officer in such appeal cases. If the original decision remains unchanged following the appeal related review/re-examination by a Deciding Officer, the appeal case is submitted to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for determination by an Appeals Officer.Claimants are advised to provide as much detail as possible at application stage, including any additional information and/or documentary evidence that is relevant, medical or otherwise, to ensure that all information is available to the Department in the assessment and decision process. On appeal, applicants are again invited to provide any new information or evidence they have in support of their appeal. An appeal notice form is available to complete online and comprehensive information on the appeals process is provided on the website www.gov.ie. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
