Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the scope, format and timeframe of the review she is conducting of the domiciliary care allowance scheme; if she is seeking views specifically from parents; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the notice period given in advance of the review of a child's payment is too short to allow for the parent to gather the medical reports and documentation needed to support their application for the continuation of the payment; if her further attention has been drawn to the anxiety and distress these reviews are causing parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11951/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Domiciliary care allowance is paid to more than 24,000 parents and guardians in respect of 26,000 children at a cost of approximately €100 million in 2011, with the accompanying respite care grant costing a further €45 million. In addition, the Department makes an extensive range of payments to support families with children. In 2011, some €2.08 billion was paid out in respect of 1.13 million children on child benefit. In addition, qualified child increases were also paid to people on social welfare payments in respect of 495,000 children.

Domiciliary care allowance is a monthly payment to the parent or guardian of a child with a disability so severe that the child requires care and attention and-or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be provided to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.

I have asked the advisory group on tax and social welfare to examine and report on the policy objectives underpinning the budget 2012 proposals regarding changes in eligibility criteria and rates of payment for disability allowance and the increase in the age threshold for payment of domiciliary care allowance, and to assess the overall effectiveness of these proposals in delivering on these objectives. The advisory group has sought submissions from interested parties and I expect that the group will commence its work on this issue in the near future.

Representations from parents, guardians and-or representative groups on the operation of the scheme are routinely reviewed by officials of my Department.

Individual domiciliary care allowance cases are routinely reviewed to ensure that the conditions for receipt of the payment continue to be met.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Reviews are initiated with the parent-guardian being asked to complete a review of medical criteria form, which also requires medical input from the child's GP. The parent returns this form together with any additional recent reports of ongoing medical or therapeutic services the child may be receiving. While 21 days is allowed for the return of the completed review form and supporting documentation, flexibility is given where some additional time is needed to obtain specific reports.

This information is then sent for review by a medical assessor who will provide an opinion to the deciding officer on whether the child continues to meet the medical criteria for receipt of the payment.

The decision of the deciding officer is communicated to the customer in writing and he or she is given the option to appeal to the social welfare appeals office. Any new or additional information received after the issue of the revised decision and before the appeal is heard is further assessed by a medical assessor. In this way, the review process affords parents and guardians every opportunity to provide additional information and to have this information assessed at an early stage with payment restored, where necessary, without the necessity of an appeal hearing.

My Department is committed to ensuring that those children who meet the conditions for the scheme will continue to receive the payment.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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In January I welcomed the Ministers intention to review the domiciliary care allowance - nobody has a problem with a review. Will the Minister commit that the advisory group on tax and social welfare will consult with the carers association and parents organisations on the domiciliary care allowance? Most people are not aware that the group that is reviewing whether to cut the disability allowance is also reviewing the domiciliary care allowance. While nobody has a problem with reviews, the problem is that 21 days is insufficient to get the professional letters that are required. I ask the Minister to instruct the Department to automatically notify the parents in receipt of domiciliary care allowance in advance of the review so that they have a number of months, given that it can take up to six months to get the professional documentation required.

Has there been an increase in the number of individual reviews of these cases? It is causing distress to a number of people who have been in contact with me and other Deputies. These are parents of children with lifelong debilitating disabilities with no chance of the condition improving in the future.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I put it to the Deputy that there were advertisements in the newspaper recently relating to the review being carried out and an invitation to interested individuals or organisations. Certainly, I will ask the officials of the Department to re-advise any of the caring organisations that the review is ongoing and that they have been asked to make submissions. I understand they are all aware of it but I will re-check the position.

Some 1,700 domiciliary care allowance cases are scheduled to be reviewed in 2012. This issue arises as part of the review process as well and it is often indicated when the domiciliary care allowance is first given. As Deputy Ó Snodaigh will appreciate, in the case of some conditions affecting children there may be - hopefully there will be - a recovery while in other cases where there is a lifelong disability, there may not. Overall approximately 40% of all claims are awarded the allowance. The success rate does not vary to any significant degree between claims relating to intellectual and physical disabilities. The success rate for claims relating to intellectual and physical disabilities is similar. I recognise that question has been raised by some people.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have raised the issue because most parents I have dealt with were not aware of a review date. Sometimes if one rings up in advance one can get the date but one is not informed at the start that there will be a review in one, two or three years. It does not matter much whether they are informed at the start or whether notice goes out with sufficient time for them to make the preparation to get the most up-to-date information from the professionals dealing with it.

Does the Minister agree that no domiciliary care allowance payment should be withdrawn without the deciding officers meeting the parents and child involved? This reassurance could deal with some of the concerns of parents who have a child with a disability so severe that the child needs care and attention or supervision over and above that of another child of the same age. This reassurance would address most of the concerns of parents.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Deputy Ó Snodaigh has suggested that parents should be given a longer period of notice before a review takes place. I will examine whether that is possible. The Deputy is aware that the domiciliary care allowance was taken over from the HSE and the Department of Health only a short number of years ago. The assessment for the domiciliary care allowance and the reviews are medically based. Therefore, as the Deputy is aware, it depends on the level of medical information and witness brought forward. It is a desk-based review because the medical advice, diagnosis, judgment and so on is given by the child's medical advisers. I am unsure whether the Deputy is suggesting there should be further direct medical examination of the children by the Department. The problem in that case would be that it might impose considerable additional stress on families if they had to undergo another set of medical examinations. I am unsure if that is what the Deputy meant.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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What if the pre-notice was not changed?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I take the reference to expanding and extending the pre-notice period. None of the cases taken over from the HSE has been fully reviewed as yet. When the medical diagnosis and assessments are made there are often review dates put on the file to determine how the child progresses. Perhaps shortly after the initial award is made the parents could be advised so that they are made aware.