Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Domiciliary care allowance, DCA, is currently paid to over 25,000 clients, parents and guardians, in respect of over 27,000 children at a cost in excess of €140 million a year, when the cost of the respite care grant is included. In 2013, over 4,800 applications were received, with 3,227 claims awarded in the year, including those awarded on review and on appeal. The situation following the review has improved enormously, which people have acknowledged. As I already stated, the High Court ruling of 1 April, to which the Deputy refers, involved a challenge by a mother to the process involved in determining eligibility on her claim for DCA. As the Department is still considering the detailed judgment, I am not in a position to comment further on what actions may be required. However, I can confirm that the DCA eligibility review programme will not recommence until the implications of the judgment are clarified.

The eligibility review process has been comprehensively redesigned as part of the scheme review undertaken in 2012 and while it has not yet recommenced, a lot of work has been undertaken to prepare for a recommencement of eligibility reviews. The scheme review was overseen by a working group comprising representatives of the Department, other relevant Departments and representatives of parents and guardians. It was chaired by the former Secretary General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Sylda Langford. On publication of the review report in April 2013, an implementation group was formed, involving representatives of parents and guardians to work on implementing the administrative recommendations. We have been working closely with representative groups, including parents and guardians.

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When the review programme recommences, parents and guardians will be given three months' advance notice of their child’s review to enable them prepare documentation. When this time elapses, they will get a form to complete and have another two months to complete and return it to the Department. The newly introduced forms facilitate the provision of additional medical information, which will be supplied by the specialist attending the child and this will ensure that the appropriate information is available to assist in the decision-making process.

This, combined with the new information guidelines and claim process, as outlined in my earlier answer will ensure that the claim and review process will be fully transparent to parents and guardians and that better outcomes are achieved for the children concerned.

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