Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

We made a lot of changes in recent years to DCA. In fairness to the Department, there were 29,305 people receiving DCA in respect of 31,628 children in 2015. In 2024, there were 57,319 people receiving DCA in respect of 64,676 children. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that people have that support. We want to make further changes where possible. We have also expanded the payment in relation to DCA to parents of children or babies who remain in hospital immediately after birth. We have doubled the periods for which DCA has continued to be payable for a child who has been admitted to hospital on a full-time basis. As Deputy Daly has said, the changes in income disregard for carers' allowance will also ensure that people get a lot more support.

We are committed to supporting parents. The Department is committed to doing that. We will bring to the table the feedback we get from discussions like this about those forms and the application process. We are constantly ensuring that the appeals process in particular is as efficient as possible. This is why the online process has made a big change.

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