Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There was a debate just now with Deputy Durkan about the fact that the domiciliary care allowance ends at age 16. This is probably one of the trickiest payments for us to do the right thing because some parents like the €220, even though it is going to a child, but a lot of parents do not like it because it is going to the child. Sooner or later, society will have to grasp the nettle here. I accept that we need to work this carefully. I have often thought of this over the years because it was a live issue back in the day. It was not a cost-saving measure but a social measure because no other person would be given €220 at 16 years of age, totally independent of parents. It just would not happen. It is an anomaly from the past. Is there some way that a public discourse could take place with the persons affected so that we can move this issue forward?

We could even say at the start that if someone got the disability allowance, it would be paid to a parent or guardian rather than directly to the 16-year old, or that there would be an enhanced rate of domiciliary care allowance up to the age of 18, at which point it could be swapped over. This nettle will have to be grasped. One of the thought processes I had, which is very radical, is that a higher rate of domiciliary care allowance up would be paid for under-fives using the money saved on 16-year-olds because lots of people in those circumstances use such payments to pay for therapies and supports for their children. Let us be straight and honest about this. We know the importance of early intervention. This whole issue must be examined, as the Minister knows because she has said so. I wonder if all of us, the Government, the Opposition and everyone else, can move forward together on this because it is a serious issue. Some parents are aghast that this kind of money would be paid to one of their children.