Written answers
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Department of Social Protection
Carer's Allowance Data
Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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405. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications in Louth and east Meath for carer's allowance in the past six years; the number of those applications which have been unsuccessful; and the reasons given for turning down applications. [21207/16]
Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care.
A breakdown of applications from Louth and East Meath is not readily available. However, the following is a breakdown for all applications from 2010-2016.
| Year | Applications | Disallowances (**) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18,212 | 7,860 |
| 2011 | 17,758 | 6,421 |
| 2012 | 15,493 | 8,603 |
| 2013 | 14,989 | 12,410 |
| 2014 | 17,759 | 8,688 |
| 2015 | 18,929 | 9,808 |
| 2016* | 9,130 | 4,005 |
** These figures include applications which were disallowed but which may subsequently have been awarded either on a deciding officer review of additional evidence or following a successful appeal.
Again, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of specific disallowance reasons for cases that were disallowed. Applications may be refused for any one or a multiple of the following reasons:
| The applicant’s means exceeding the statutory limit; |
|---|
| The applicant not providing full-time care and attention; |
| The care recipient not requiring full-time care and attention; |
| The care recipient being under 16 years of age and Domiciliary Care Allowance not being in payment in respect of them; |
| The applicant not being habitually resident in the State; |
| The applicant failing to supply evidence, documents, information or certificates required for the purpose of deciding the claim; |
| The applicant failing to co-operate with a social welfare investigation; |
CA is currently in payment to 65,258 carers. According to records available to my department, 1,957 of these carers reside in Co. Meath and 1,893 reside in Co. Louth.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
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