Social Protection | Update on the number of applications received, granted, refused, appealed, and overturned on appeal for domiciliary care allowance

To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for domiciliary care allowance received by her Department in the past twelve months; the number of applications granted and refused in the same period; the number of decisions appealed and subsequently overturned on appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires continuous or continual care and attention in the home, substantially in excess of that required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care for at least 12 months.

The following table sets out the number of DCA applications that were received, awarded and disallowed, including the number of decisions that were appealed and subsequently overturned on appeal in the past 12 months (year 2022).

Year	Applications received during year	Applications Allowed during year	Applications Disallowed during year	Decisions Appealed during year	Appeals Allowed during year
2022	10,524	7,872	3,948	2,084	1,458

The relevant statistics in respect of year 2023 to date are not yet available.

In some cases, more than one decision may be made where a customer provides further information and / or seeks a review of a decision, i.e. a customer’s application can be disallowed and then subsequently allowed on review.  Applicants are advised to provide as much detail as possible at application stage, including any additional information or documentary evidence that is relevant, medical or otherwise, to ensure that all information is available to the department for the decision and assessment process.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.