Currently, the average time to process an application for Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) from receipt to decision is approximately 8 weeks. The Department has been accepting new claims for DCA since 1st April 2009. Statistics relating to the allowance for the period prior to April 2009 are a matter for the HSE, the previous administrators of the scheme. The number of applicants for DCA that were received, awarded and refused from April 2009 to December 2012 is set out in the table below.
Domiciliary Care Allowance applications – 2009 to 2012
-
|
Applications received
|
Applications processed in year
|
Applications allowed*
|
Applications disallowed
|
2009 (from 1st April)
|
3,389
|
2,823
|
1,220 (43%)
|
1,603
|
2010
|
5,457
|
5,333
|
2,576 (48%)
|
2,757
|
2011
|
5,525
|
5,396
|
2502 (46%)
|
2,894
|
2012
|
4,339
|
4,680
|
2204 (47%)
|
2,476
|
*including on review following receipt of additional information