Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Lynch for the opportunity to set out the background and context for the changes being introduced to the disability allowance, DA, and domiciliary care allowance, DCA, schemes. The current arrangements provide that DA, a weekly payment made to persons with a disability whose employment capacity is substantially restricted by reason of his or her disability and whose means are insufficient to meet his or her needs and those of dependents, can be paid from age 16. This age limit was established in 1953 as a qualifying condition for the disabled person's maintenance allowance, DPMA, and was carried into the DA when it replaced the DPMA in 1996. It was linked to ability to work at a time when most young people would have left school by the end of 16 years to enter the workforce.

The social welfare system does not, in general, provide benefits which could be viewed as encouraging early school leaving and, accordingly, 18 is normally used as the minimum age for qualification for means-tested payments in a person's own right.

The National Federation of Voluntary Bodies is an umbrella organisation for 63 voluntary agencies which provide direct services to people with intellectual disabilities. Its members account for in excess of 85% of this country's direct service provision to people with an intellectual disability. In its submission to the Department's review of the DA, the federation argued:

At present the age for receipt of DA is 16 years. We deem this to be too young. This does not give an incentive for a child to pursue work/education options. Subsequently a child may fall into the dependency trap too early. Instead parents should receive the Domiciliary Care Allowance for the child until they are 18 years old.

The Government has decided to implement this change. The age of eligibility for entitlement to DA is being increased from 16 to 18 for new claimants only. This change will not affect existing 16 and 17 year olds on DA.

The DCA has hitherto been payable to parents of children from birth to the age of 16 who are living at home and have a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention which is substantially in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age. As an alleviating measure for the change in the DA scheme, the age for entitlement to the DCA is being increased from 16 to 18 years. The Deputy will be aware that the medical card is means tested and can also be given as a discretionary card to people with severe needs — and of course, those young people may be eligible for that as well.

Parents who are caring for a disabled 16 or 17 year old on a full-time basis may also qualify for carer's benefit or carer's allowance if they are receiving the DCA. In practice, children in respect of whom DCA is in payment are deemed to require full-time care and attention, thereby satisfying one of the key conditions for receipt of carer's benefit or carer's allowance. Those who are already in receipt of one of these carers payments will, of course, continue to receive the payment.

The Deputy asked about free travel to take these young people to special schools outside the parish. Young people who are attending special schools also qualify for free travel to and from such a school. I can assure Deputy Lynch that the Government will continue to prioritise enabling young people with disabilities to reach their potential through education and access to work, while also supporting their families as carers.

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