Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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142. To ask the Minister for Social Protection how he deals with the assessment of awards which are made in compensation cases in respect of children who might be in receipt of domiciliary care allowance where the parent may well be in receipt of carer’s allowance, particularly where such awards arise from injuries sustained at birth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11118/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, who requires ongoing care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. As DCA is not a means tested, payment, entitlement is not affected in any way affected by the receipt of a compensation award.

Social welfare legislation provides for the disregard of certain compensation awards when assessing the means of a person for social assistance schemes, including Carer's Allowance.

The disregards for social welfare means assessment purposes include all income derived from compensation awarded by the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal, by the Residential Institutions Redress Board and in relation to disability caused by Thalidomide. Any payment made by the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board is similarly disregarded. In addition, ex gratia payments made to women who were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen Laundries or through the Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme are also not taken into account in social welfare means assessments. All other compensation or court awards which are not provided for in social welfare legislation are assessed in the normal manner.

It should be noted that the means assessment for the Carer’s Allowance scheme applies to means of the carer and his or her spouse/partner, not the person being cared for. In this regard, if the compensation award is in the name of the person being cared for, its capital value would not be assessed against the claimant.

Furthermore, payment of DCA is also disregarded in the Carer’s Allowance means assessment.