Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Just so as Mr. McKeon understands what I am asking, I am speaking about an application being rejected on the basis of not having the necessary assessment of need carried out.

In some cases, people are waiting three to four years before an assessment is carried out. If a person gets a private assessment, which many people cannot afford anyway, it is often not recognised as a proper assessment. Does the Department have discretion in this regard? A reply to a parliamentary question I tabled indicated that it is not a prerequisite and it is not a reason to reject a domiciliary care allowance application.