Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the comprehensive set of figures there, but it is glaring that across disability allowance, domiciliary care allowance, and carer's allowance applications, there are approximately 5,000 appeals for disability allowance, 2,000 appeals for domiciliary care allowance, and 3,500 for carer's allowance. I have posed the question because if there is a way of further streamlining the process, particularly for parents where applications are made for domiciliary care allowance, this would be very helpful. This is on the basis that the weight of medical evidence that must be supplied is burdensome. People understand they have to do it, and obviously we must have checks and balances to ensure the scheme delivers what it is supposed to deliver. Nobody argues against that. However, when a decision is made by a Department's deciding medical officer, very often it poses questions as to the legitimacy of that decision. Given the weight of the medical evidence that has been submitted, people feel understandably annoyed where their initial applications are turned down and, in many cases, the decisions are overturned on appeal. There are still quite a number that do not reach oral hearing level. With the domiciliary care allowance in particular, the fact that 2,000 applications have gone to appeal has to tell us something about the system and whether it is working.

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