Written answers
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Department of Social Protection
Domiciliary Care Allowance Review
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the status of the review of the domiciliary care allowance; the number of refusals of DCA in each of the years since the payment was transferred from the Health Service Executive; if there has been an increase in refusals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11376/13]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The review of the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) scheme, which I requested in May 2012, was completed by the end of December 2012, on schedule. The report is with me and is currently receiving consideration and will be published in due course. It is estimated that expenditure on the DCA scheme in 2013 will be circa €101m with a further €37m on the associated Respite Care Grant. The number of beneficiaries of the scheme in each of the years since it transferred to the Department from the HSE is detailed in the following table.
| Following transfer from HSE September 2009 | 22,763 Customers | 24,587 Children |
|---|---|---|
| September 2010 | 23,407 Customers | 25,208 children |
| September 2011 | 23,932 Customers | 25,758 Children |
| September 2012 | 24,610 Customers | 26,416 Children |
Details of the numbers of DCA applications allowed and refused in each of these years are detailed in the following table.
Domiciliary Care Allowance applications – April 2009 to Dec 2012
| Applications received | Applications fully processed in year | Applications allowed incl. on review* | Applications disallowed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 (from 1st April) | 3,389 | 2,823 | 1,220 | 1,603 (57%) |
| 2010 | 5,457 | 5,333 | 2,576 | 2,757 (52%) |
| 2011 | 5,525 | 5,396 | 2,502 | 2,894 (54%) |
| 2012 | 4,339 | 4,680 | 1,579 | 3,101 (66%) |
| Total | 18,710 | 18,232 | 7,877 (43%) | 10,355 (57%) |
(* Includes cases initially disallowed but allowed on review following receipt of additional information ).
Although the percentage of applications refused on initial application has averaged 57% over the last four years there has been a steady increase each year in the number of beneficiaries of the scheme.
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