Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on an application for domiciliary care allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5966/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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An application for domiciliary care allowance was received on the 11th February 2011. This application has been forwarded to one of the Department's Medical Assessors for their medical opinion on the case. Upon receipt of this opinion a decision will issue to the customer.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 132: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of returning Irish citizens who have applied for means tested social welfare schemes; the number that have been refused on the grounds of not satisfying the habitual residence condition and further in the case of applications being refused, the number of these decisions that are being made by the deciding officers in social welfare and the number by the community welfare office. [6030/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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All applicants for a means tested social welfare payment must satisfy a habitual residence condition test. My department does not hold statistics for the number of returning Irish citizens who have applied for a means tested payment and therefore undergone a habitual residence condition test. I have attached a table which shows the number of Irish Nationals disallowed on the grounds of the habitual residence condition by scheme type from 2006 to 2009. It should be noted that the figures for 2010 are not available because of industrial action during that year.

The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme (SWA) is the "safety net" within the overall social welfare system in that it provides a basic income support payment to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the SWA scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. The scheme is administered by the community welfare service which has now been seconded to the Department. The SWA scheme is delivered locally by community welfare officers.

A community welfare officer interviews applicants for a payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme when they first present in order to determine if they satisfy the statutory qualifying conditions for the scheme. They also ensure that all the documentation required to make a decision has been provided. Claim details are recorded electronically in cases where it is established that an entitlement exists. However, given the pressure on the community welfare service, claim details are not always recorded electronically where no entitlement has been established. For this reason, reliable statistics are not available on the total number of people who applied for and were refused a payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.