Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A huge percentage of appeals are successful. That either means we are not doing our job correctly or others are subverting the process. We need to examine that because €4.2 million is being spent on the appeals office that I am sure could be better spent on carer's allowance or whatever. Is there cross-departmental consistency on determining criteria? Does Mr. McKeon sit down with his counterparts in the Departments of Education and Skills, Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Taoiseach and agree that a dependant is X? I will give an example. In terms of jobseeker's allowance, somebody is deemed dependent while they are living at home and, regardless of parental income, independent once they are 24 years of age. Is that correct?