Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2022
1090. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of domiciliary care allowance applications that were declined in 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29244/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn general, social welfare schemes with complex qualifying conditions like Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) can require a large amount of evidence on which to base the decision on entitlement. If the required documentation is requested and is not submitted within the allotted timeframe it may result in a case being disallowed in the initial stages. If the missing documentation is later supplied the case is reviewed and may be subsequently awarded. This can result in multiple reviews being carried out on a single application and several disallowances being counted against that application notwithstanding the fact that the final decision is then ultimately that the claim is allowed. It is also the case that applicants who submit an application at the end of a year may not receive a decision until the following year. As such, it is not possible to provide an accurate percentage of DCA claims that are declined for any given year.
The following is a breakdown of the number of applications that were received and the number of disallowal decisions issued in the years 2020 and 2021.
|
Year |
Applications Received during the year |
pplications disallowed during the year |
|
2020 |
7,289 |
2,639 |
|
2021 |
9,121 |
2,468 |
I would encourage all people who apply for DCA, or any other Social Welfare payments to provide as much information as possible with their application so that their claim can be decided at the earliest date possible.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
