Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 178: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason domiciliary care allowance claimants caring for small children, some as young as five years of age with epilepsy, are being refused despite the level of care and supervision needed by these children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13571/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Eligibility for domiciliary care allowance is not based primarily on the medical or psychological condition, but on the resulting lack of function of body or mind necessitating the degree of extra care and attention required. Children with epilepsy, or any other condition, do not automatically qualify for a payment under the scheme. Each application is assessed on an individual basis taking account of the evidence submitted.

The Department uses a set of consistent and objective guidelines in determining the medical eligibility of children for the scheme. Every application is assessed by one of the Department's medical assessors and an individual medical opinion, based on the information submitted by the applicant in support of the claim, is offered in each case. The deciding officer then makes a decision having considered the medical opinion provided and all the other information available.

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 by a different Medical Assessor specially designated for this task. Where a person is not satisfied with the decision of a he/she may appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 179: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will allow those in receipt of the carer's allowance to work up to 19.5 hours per week instead of the current 15 hours per week without affecting their entitlements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13576/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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A qualifying condition for the payment of carer's allowance is that the person receiving care is medically assessed as needing care on a full-time basis. While carers may work up to fifteen hours per week, any further expansion would necessarily dilute the very notion of 'full time care and attention' and could directly impact on the person who needs that care. For this reason I have no plans for a further increase in the hours of work allowed from the current fifteen per week. When a person's caring responsibilities cease, they may transfer to another payment such as jobseeker's allowance and have their time spent in receipt of carer's allowance counted towards the community employment qualifying period.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered extending the home-makers scheme disregard to apply to the State pension transition. [13584/11]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to transform the home-makers disregard into credits and award these retrospectively to 1973. [13585/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 and 181 together.

The homemaker's scheme makes qualification for State pension (contributory) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. The scheme which was introduced in and took effect from 1994 allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes.

To be eligible for the homemakers scheme, a person must permanently live in the State, be aged under 66, have started insurable employment or self-employment on or after the age of 16 and before the age of 56, not work full-time, although a person can work and earn less than €38 gross per week, care for a child (under 12) or an incapacitated person on a full-time basis.

The scheme will not, of itself, qualify a person for a pension. The standard qualifying conditions, which require a person to enter insurance ten years before pension age, pay a minimum of 260 contributions at the correct rate and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age, must also be satisfied. The aim of the National Pensions Framework is to deliver security, equity, choice and clarity for the individual, the employer and the State. It also aims to increase pension coverage, particularly among low to middle income groups and to ensure that State support for pensions is equitable and sustainable.

One of the changes outlined in the Framework will introduce a system of homemaker's credits to replace the current disregard from 2012 and allow backdating to 1994 for the purpose of the averaging system that will continue until 2020. This means that people reaching pension age after the credits are introduced will have credits rather than disregards applied to their records to cover periods of care since 1994 (up to a maximum of 20 years). This represents a significant improvement, particularly for women and those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties.

Upon introduction of the total contributions approach in 2020, the maximum number of credits applicable for pension purposes will be 520 (i.e. 10 years). It is intended that a standard approach will apply to the various categories of people who receive credited contributions, including jobseekers and people with disabilities. An implementation group chaired by my Department is developing the legislative, regulatory and administrative infrastructure required to put the necessary reforms into operation. There are no plans to introduce the changes outlined by the Deputy.