Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of section 3 is to clarify that eligibility for the carer's benefit, carer’s allowance and respite care grant schemes is determined by a deciding officer on the basis of all of the information available to him or her in regard to that claim. This information includes all of the relevant medical evidence that has been submitted by the claimant in support of the claim, for example, medical evidence relating to the nature and extent of a person’s disability or incapacity provided by a GP or consultant. It also includes, where appropriate, any opinion provided by a medical assessor of the Department. The current legislative provisions provide, inter alia, that a person will be regarded as requiring full-time care and attention where the nature and extent of his or her disability or incapacity has been certified by a registered medical practitioner. In order to avoid any doubt, this legislative provision is being removed to clarify that a deciding officer can have regard to an opinion provided by a medical assessor of the Department of Social Protection, in addition to the medical evidence submitted by a registered medical practitioner. Both of these clarifications bring the current legislative provisions applying to the carer’s benefit, carer’s allowance and the respite care grant schemes into line with how these schemes have been operated since their inception. I shall give a written note to the Deputy.