The Department has been responsible for the domiciliary care allowance scheme (DCA) since April 2009. As there were no agreed national medical guidelines for the scheme while it was administered by the Health Service Executive, an Expert Medical Group was established, in advance of the transfer of functions, to examine this issue and to draw up standardised medical guidelines. The Group considered that the most appropriate way for the Department to conduct assessments for medical eligibility was by assessing evidence submitted by the claimant, rather than by way of individual examination by the Department's Medical Assessors (MAs) as they are not involved in the on-going treatment of the child.
The DCA application process is the same for children with autism as for those with any other disability and involves the completion of a claim form which includes details of the medical condition of the child and the level of care and attention that the child needs to deal with normal day to day activity. The process involves the submission of a detailed statement by the parent or guardian of the child, a detailed statement by the child's General Practitioner as well as any other relevant evidence from qualified experts who have examined the child. This evidence is assessed by the MAs who have received special training and are qualified and experienced medical professionals who meet regularly to ensure best practice and consistency of approach.
As the Deputy may be aware, I recently announced that a review of the DCA scheme will be undertaken over the coming months. I expect to make announcements shortly in relation to the terms of reference and other arrangements for the review.
