John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of claims for respite care grant being processed here; the way this compares to the number of applicants being processed in the same period in 2006 and 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39459/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the information required by the Deputy is the total number of applications for Respite Care Grant received, by the end of October, for each of the years 2006 to 2008, together with the number allowed and the number refused.

The information requested is detailed in tabular form as follows. Discrepancies between total applications received and those decided are due to the fact that some Respite Care Grant applications are ultimately decided as part of claims for Carers Allowance or Carers Benefit. The grant is paid automatically to recipients of these primary payments. In addition, some cases require further investigation to establish entitlement.

The reduction in applications received in 2008 is primarily due to the fact that quite a number of those who received the stand alone grant in 2007 became entitled to the new half-rate Carer's Allowance which entitles them to an automatic payment of the grant.