Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 366: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on an application for domiciliary care by a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22727/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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An application for domiciliary care allowance was received by the Department on 6 th May 2010. This application together with medical reports has been forwarded to one of the Department's Medical Assessors for a medical opinion. Upon receipt of the opinion a decision will be made and issued to the customer. Currently it takes some eight weeks to process an application for this allowance.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 367: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the basis that a claim for domiciliary care allowance was disallowed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; if they would have an entitlement to another payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22731/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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An application for domiciliary care allowance was received by the Department on 23 rd September 2009. This application was referred to one of the Department's Medical Assessors who found that the child in question was not medically eligible for the allowance. In order to qualify a child must have a disability so severe that it requires the child needing care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.

A letter issued to the person in question on 27th October 2009 where she was advised of the decision to refuse payment for not satisfying the medical criteria. In the case of an application which is refused on medical grounds, the applicant may submit additional information and/or ask for the case to be reviewed or they may appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office within 21 days. To date no additional information or appeal request has been received in this case .

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of households currently in receipt of rent supplement; the number of households currently in receipt of mortgage interest supplement; when he expects to complete the review of mortgage interest supplement ; if it his intention to publish the findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22744/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently 95,730 people in receipt of rent supplement and 16,588 people in receipt of mortgage interest supplement.

The mortgage interest supplement scheme is currently under review. The main purpose of this review is to examine how the scheme can best meet its objective of catering for those who require assistance on a short-term basis. The review group includes representatives from my Department, the Community Welfare Service, the Departments of Finance and Environment, Heritage and Local Government, together with a representative from the Office of the Financial Regulator.

As part of the initial review, guidelines on specific and immediate operational issues were drawn up and circulated to the community welfare officers. These guidelines are available on the Department's website at www.welfare.ie.

More recently, the Government has established a broader and more comprehensive review of mortgage arrears and personal debt. The Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group under the independent chairmanship of Mr. Hugh Cooney, comprises representatives from my own Department, the Departments of Finance, Taoiseach, Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. In addition, the Group has representatives from the Office of the Financial Regulator, the ESRI, the Irish Banking Federation, the Free Legal Advice Centre and the Law Reform Commission.

The terms of reference for the Group are based on the Renewed Programme for Government, with an emphasis on protecting the family home. They include a review of the statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears and the recently agreed protocol between the Irish Bankers Federation and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service on debt default, with a view to expanding the options available for dealing with debt situations to avoid foreclosure. In addition, the Group is examining measures adopted in other jurisdictions and considering ways of expanding existing mortgage-support measures.

The conclusions and recommendations from the review of the mortgage interest supplement scheme, which is currently being finalised, will inform the work of Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group. I understand that the Group will make its report to the Minister for Finance by the end of June.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when payment will issue on an application for domiciliary care in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal. [22746/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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No application for domiciliary care allowance has been received from the person in question to date. When an application is received, a decision will be made and the outcome notified to the customer. Currently it takes some eight weeks to process an application for this allowance.