Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 26: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will maintain the age of eligibility for the disability allowance at 16 [6008/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In general, the social welfare system processes payments from the age of 18. The minimum age limit of 16 was established in 1953 as a qualifying condition for the disabled person's maintenance allowance and the age limit was maintained when that scheme was replaced by the disability allowance scheme in 1996.

The review of the disability allowance scheme published in November 2010 recommended increasing the qualifying age to 18 years. The review noted that the payment of disability allowance at age 16 carries with it the risk of creating a dependency on social welfare from a very young age and can generate disincentives for people to take up education, training or employment opportunities. A study conducted on the impact of the payment of the allowance from age 16 on retention rates in second-level education indicated that it would, at a minimum, act as a negative factor if a path out of education was being considered.

The payment of the allowance at such a young age also gives rise to issues relating to the control and use of the payment, about which views have been expressed by parents. In some circumstances, parents and guardians will be the financial agents for people with disabilities in the 16 to 18 age group, and the income may effectively be regarded as household income rather than as an income support for the individual concerned. Equally, there are issues with regard to the capacity of some vulnerable 16 year old people with disabilities to manage funds of this type. The question also arises as to whether it is appropriate, in terms of equity of treatment of all social protection recipients, to pay disability allowance at age 16 but other means-tested working-age schemes at age 18.

While cognisant of the findings of the review, I am conscious of the concerns raised some years ago when a proposal to increase the age limit to 18 was introduced and subsequently withdrawn by a previous Minister in my Department. Notably, there was an issue with regard to the expectations of families that additional income support would arise once their children had reached the age of 16. I will consider all of the issues involved carefully before reaching any decisions on this sensitive matter.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I note what the Minister has stated. The value-for-money review of the disability allowance scheme is quite a detailed report which was produced by the Department only in November 2010. The recommendations have far-reaching consequences, and while some of the proposals are positive, others are potentially negative, including the one highlighted in the question, which would affect many families with a member who is eligible for disability allowance at the age of 16. I do not know whether the Minister is aware of this but, even allowing for the extension of domiciliary care allowance to the age of 18, which would make up some of the shortfall, the change would result in a cut in income of up to €440 per month for some households. This is a substantial amount for any family; in fact, it would halve the social protection payment for the claimants involved. Domiciliary care allowance is €309 per month, compared to the maximum personal rate of disability allowance, which is €188 per week.

Does the Minister share my concerns? I am not asking for a review of a review, but I ask her to consider, when implementing the review, an increase in the domiciliary care allowance to eliminate the shortfall, which in certain circumstances could be €440 per month.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for his comments. When the Joint Committee on Social Protection recommences, this may be a matter that the Deputy, with all his experience, can raise for discussion.

There are 1,926 recipients of disability allowance aged between 16 and 18. This represents about 1.9% of the total number of people receiving disability allowance. The total spend on disability allowance for people between 16 and 18 is €18.8 million. As the Deputy said, it is a significant amount of money. One must also take account of the projected increase in the number of recipients. We are talking about the difference between paying the domiciliary care allowance until the child concerned reaches the age of 18 and the cost of transferring people to disability allowance at age 16.

Any change to the qualifying age would affect new claimants only - that is, existing claimants would continue to receive disability allowance even if they are under 18. Domiciliary care allowance will be paid up to age 18; currently, as the Deputy said, it ceases at age 16. There are currently 3,600 children of domiciliary care allowance recipients who are aged 14 or 15, and all of these claimants would migrate to disability allowance on reaching the age of 16. I would be concerned if there were a disincentive to a child involved staying on in school, education or training. This is a sensitive issue and should be discussed at greater length, perhaps at committee level when they have been established.