Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, for taking this issue. I note that the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, has other commitments and is unavailable today and I thank her office for contacting me to inform me of that.

The Minister of State will be aware that the domiciliary care allowance is a monthly payment to the carer of a child with a disability so severe that the child requires care, attention and supervision substantially in excess of that needed by another child of the same age who does not have a disability. This care and attention must be provided to allow the child to get on with the activities of daily living. The allowance is a great help to parents and enables them to help their child and pay for some of the additional costs incurred due to the child's disability.

In response to the parliamentary question that I submitted last week, the Minister stated that for domiciliary care allowance to be payable, a child must be resident with the qualified person for at least five days per week and that there is no provision under the legislation to support the splitting of the domiciliary care allowance between two parents. I appreciate that, as with every scheme, there are objective guidelines for determining eligibility. Until two weeks ago, however, I was not aware of an issue that baffles me, quite honestly. To refuse this payment to the carers of a child with disabilities because he or she spends half of the week with one parent and the second half with the other parent is discriminatory. There are many such cases in this country because marriages break down for many reasons and it is not for us to ask why. Having a child with disabilities has massive financial implications for any household. There are cases where a judge rules that parents be given joint custody of a child or children. In those cases, one or other of the parents gets the domiciliary care allowance but it should be split between both parents.

Under the domiciliary allowance scheme, payment is not payable if the child is resident full time in an institution. However, if the child comes home for not less than two days and for more than four days in any one week, a half-rate payment can be made to the qualified person. Given that, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to split the allowance between two parents in cases of separation, which would be of major help to both.

I would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate Fianna Fáil's call for medical cards to be provided for all children in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. More than 33,000 parents are in receipt of this allowance on behalf of their children but currently there are approximately 10,000 children whose parents are in receipt of the allowance who do not have a full medical card. Their parents are paying for medical care that is not covered by this scheme. Extending the medical card to these children would remove a significant financial burden on their parents, particularly those children with disabilities and serious conditions. It is imperative that we ensure that those experiencing financial hardship due to very serious illnesses receive a discretionary medical card and it is regrettable that this has not happened to date.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Scanlon for raising this very important issue. I accept that he has made some very valid points. I will give the Deputy the detailed response from the Department and will answer any further questions he may have then.

Domiciliary care allowance, DCA, is a payment made in respect of a child with a disability who requires care and attention substantially in excess of another child of the same age without a disability. Eligibility for the allowance is not based on the child’s disability but on the resultant additional care needs. No disability excludes a child from qualifying but neither does a particular disability automatically qualify a child.

DCA is currently paid to over 38,000 parents or guardians in respect of over 42,000 children at a cost in excess of €213 million per annum, when the cost of the associated carer's support grant is included. DCA was first introduced by the Minister for Health in 1973. The payment was specifically designed to help parents or guardians of severely disabled children between two and 16 years of age who were being cared for at home. To qualify, the child had to have a severe disability requiring constant care and attention substantially in excess of that needed by a child of the same age, which was likely to last for at least 12 months. In 2000, the scheme was reformed and was extended to include children under two years of age. The scheme transferred to the Department of Social Protection in 2009. The scheme is not means tested and is paid at the rate of €309.50 per month. The carer’s support grant of €1,700, is also automatically payable to all DCA recipients in June each year. Some 60% of DCA recipients are also in receipt of the carer's allowance.

Claim volumes have been increasing over recent years. In 2017 over 8,000 applications were received, 763 more than in 2016 and 1,012 more than 2015. Following the full application process, that is, the initial application, the provision of further medical information by the applicant, revised decisions and appeals, over 80% of applications are allowed.

Applications are normally decided within ten weeks. Children who qualify for the allowance also qualify automatically for a medical card. Domiciliary care allowance is payable to whoever is considered to be the qualified person to receive the allowance. Section 186D of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 defines a qualified person as the person with whom the child normally resides and who cares for him or her. In order for domiciliary care allowance to be payable, a child must be resident with the qualified person for at least five days per week as per section 140C of SI 162 of 2009. The rationale for this condition - this touches on the point raised by the Deputy - is to ensure the payment is made to the person who is the main carer of the child and with whom he or she is considered to reside. There is no provision under the legislation to support the splitting of the domiciliary care allowance payment between two parents.

Domiciliary care allowance is a payment made in respect of the care of a child and can be taken into account when parents are agreeing maintenance or other arrangements for the care of the child. While it remains payable to one parent only, the amount paid can be considered as part of the overall care package for the support of the child. Therein lies part of the solution.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy, but I am listening on the broader issue because I take the points made by the Deputy in his introductory speech.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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There are major financial implications in having a child with severe disabilities in a household. One person who contacted me recently about a completely unrelated matter mentioned this issue as an afterthought, perhaps because she did not think anything could be done about it and I do not whether it can. I told her that I would raise the matter at the first opportunity in the Dáil. I understand she has requested an oral hearing on her claim for a domiciliary care allowance payment. In cases in which judges have decided joint custody is best for the child, nobody receives the domiciliary care allowance because the child spends half of the week with one parent and the other half with the other. This issue should be considered because hardship is being caused hardship. The child spends three and ha half days per week with each parent, neither of whom receives anything. The Minister of State might see if the issue can be dealt with.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Of course, we have to ensure parents and carers of children with disabilities receive support. The Independent Alliance dealt with this issue very strongly in the budget for next year. The domiciliary care allowance is €309.50 per month. The carer's support grant which the Independent Alliance had restored within six months of going into government is €1,700. It is paid to 101,000 families in the State. There are 38,000 parents directly affected by the issue raised by the Deputy. That is another reason we pushed in the Estimates debate for an increase in the weekly rate of carer's allowance, carer's benefit, blind pension, disability allowance and invalidity pension because we accept the argument - the Deputy's argument - that the parents of children with disabilities need more support.

On the broader debate, the legislation in place requires a child to be resident with one parent for five days per week in order to qualify for the domiciliary care allowance. It is important to note that under the legislation, where parents insist on a child residing fewer than five days per week with one or other parent, the allowance is not payable. Is there a possibility that such families, as part of the separation agreement, could negotiate a settlement in that regard? If a child is resident full time in an institution such as a hospital, the domiciliary care allowance is not payable. If, however, the child goes home for not fewer than two days or not more than four in any one week, half of the allowance is paid to the qualified person, that is, the person with whom the child is considered to be normally residing, if not in the institution.

The Deputy has raised a very important issue which I will follow up with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection because the argument he has made has a certain validity. We must ensure that if there are two parents providing care on a 50:50 basis, there will be some scheme in place. In the meantime, while we are having the debate about legislation or changing the system, I encourage parents who are making settlements and if they are responsible and care about their children, to sit down and hammer out a deal to go 50:50 on the allowance.