Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If departmental staff were to do that, they would end up before the Committee of Public Accounts facing complaints. When people are given allowances, there are procedures which must be followed, otherwise the Deputy's colleagues on the Committee of Public Accounts would be complaining. There is a procedure in place, but one of the good things about the Irish system, unlike that in other countries, is that we allow people to constantly submit new information. If, when they apply initially, they do not submit all of the necessary information or if their doctor writes a less than clear letter, we allow them to provide further evidence or an explanation.

On the issue of the design of the forms used, I must agree with the Deputy. In fact, when it came to the revision of the domiciliary care allowance forms, we brought in the National Adult Literacy Agency, NALA, to help us to redesign them, taking into account the fact that some people might not be as strong in reading forms as others. We are in the process of redesigning the forms, but if the Deputy has specific suggestions to make, I would be delighted to hear them because I am anxious to facilitate people in obtaining their entitlements. That is what the schemes are for.

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